UNI soccer begins MVC season against Valparaiso

UNI soccer vs. Valparaiso

12 p.m. | Sept. 17
Cedar Falls, Iowa | UNI Soccer Field
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CEDAR FALLS, Iowa -- The Panthers end their eight game homestand to begin the season with their first conference game of 2022.

UNI soccer will welcome the Valparaiso Beacons to UNI Soccer Field this weekend to begin the Missouri Valley Conference season. The Beacons were picked as the preseason favorite to win the league by coaches this season with the departure of soccer juggernaut Loyola Chicago. In 2021 the Panthers tied Valpo on the road in the Hoosier state in a game that went to two overtime periods.

THE PANTHERS:
- UNI soccer ended the non-conference season with a pair of losses to St. Thomas and Iowa. In both games the Panthers struggled to get past fast offenses from the Tommies and the Hawkeyes. Despite stumbling
in the first half against Iowa, UNI picked its defensive ways back up in the second, not allowing a goal and only six shots in the half.
- The Panthers will wrap up their longest homestand in program history on Saturday against Valparaiso. UNI has completed seven games in a row at UNI Soccer Field since Aug. 18. The eighth game on Saturday afternoon will finish the homestand as the Panthers will have their first road game the following week against Illinois State.
- UNI ended the non-conference portion of the season with a .500 win percentage for the first time since the 2018 season. When UNI has finished the non-conference half of the schedule at .500 or better, they have finished no worse than 4th in the MVC.
-Since being reactivated against St. Thomas, goalkeeper Brittney Bentheimer has been solid for the Panthers. In 90 minutes of action in two games, Bentheimer made 5 saves while allowing only one goal. Bentheimer leads UNI's goalies in save percentage and goals against average.

THE BEACONS:
- Valparaiso has struggled in the non-conference portion of the season with a 1-5-2 record through four weeks of play. The Beacons lone win came against Youngstown State at home back in August while the team has tied against Eastern Illinois and Northern Colorado.
- The Beacons hope the conference season will turn their luck around and continue their MVC success. Since the start of the spring 2021 campaign, the Beacons are 9-3-4 within regular season MVC matches, which improves to 9-1-4 after the departure of Loyola from the conference.
- Valpo is currently in the program's longest scoreless streak since 2019. The Beacons haven't scored in the past 286 minutes, which is less than a match away from becoming the longest scoreless streak in program history. In 2019 the Beacons didn't score for 346 minutes early in the season.
- The Beacons have several players making an impact on the field despite a lack of goals in recent games. Four players have at least a dozen shots while junior forward Kelsie James has 10 shots on goal with 21 shots overall.

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