University of Northern Iowa
Creighton
Panthers Shut Down Bluejays, 1-0
10/26/2006 8:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 26, 2006
Waterloo, Iowa-- On a night when four seniors were honored, junior Heidi O'Mara stole the show. With 10 saves and her second shutout victory of the season, O'Mara simply got it done for the University of Northern Iowa women's soccer team. Her efforts, and Keni Schroeder's first goal of the season propelled the Panthers to a 1-0 senior night victory over Creighton.
Defense was the word for the majority of the game, with both UNI and Creighton playing it conservative. The first half ended in a scoreless tie.
UNI ended the scoring draught in the 70th minute when Amy Seubert's (Minnetonka, Minn./Minnetonka) pass opened Schroeder (Granger, Iowa/Johnston) in front of the goal. The freshman punched the ball past CU goal keeper Valerie Zimmerer for the lone goal of the game and her first collegiate goal.
"Amy put up a great ball and Keni had a great finish, but this goal was a complete team effort," said head coach Kathy Kakoyianni-Bering. "We built the ball up from the back and never gave up."
O'Mara and the defense took over following the score, stopping the Creighton offense cold to secure the 1-0 win.
The Bluejay offense outshot the Panthers 13-6 overall and 10-3 on-goal. The game marked the first time UNI has been outshot and won since a 3-2 win over Drury in 2004. Seubert and Otten (Marshalltown, Iowa/Marshalltown) led UNI in shots with two each.
O'Mara's brilliant in-goal effort was the deciding factor, however. The junior recorded a season-high 10 saves and registered her second shutout victory of the season.
"Heidi had some amazing saves tonight," Kakoyianni-Bering said. "She was certainly a big reason why we won this game."
UNI honored seniors Kira Anderson, Candice Divoky, Sarah Otten and Aimee Rasmussen before the game.
"The seniors really played with a lot of heart tonight," Kakoyianni-Bering said. "Tonight, you could just tell they wanted it more."
The Panthers finish the season with a 2-16-0 record on the year, 2-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference. Creighton falls to 9-6-2 overall, 3-2-1 in the Valley. The Bluejays are the No. 2 seed in next week's MVC Tournament.
