UNI soccer remains unbeaten at home in come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Evansville

Thursday, October 12

Cedar Falls, Iowa

3 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

12-2-1, 5-2-0

Evansville

1-4-8, 1-1-5

Evansville

UNI

UNI soccer remains unbeaten at home in come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Evansville

10/12/2023 6:35:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score FINAL RESULTS Photo Gallery

Panthers set single-season program records for goals, total points in victory

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI soccer capped another historic day for the program with an incredible comeback victory over Evansville on a rainy, windy Thursday afternoon at UNI Soccer Field. Olivia Knoepfle scored the go-ahead goal in the 62nd minute, and the Panthers held firm to secure a 3-2 victory.

Lauren Heinsch opened the scoring for UNI less than two minutes into the contest, and her goal set a Panther soccer record for the most goals scored in a single season. Right before halftime, Ashley Harrington's equalizing goal set a program record for the most total points recorded in a single season. Knoepfle was able to ensure those history-making goals would be in a winning effort with her game-winning strike as the Panthers picked up their 12th victory of the season.

"What a game of special moments," said head coach Bruce Erickson. "Lauren gets us started with a great early goal, we create a ton of chances and find ourselves down 2-1. Ashley getting the second goal right before halftime was crucial. Olivia with a terrific finish capped off a great game. It wasn't pretty but our group found a way to win and grind it out."

As has been the case all season, UNI struck first with an early goal. Heinsch's goal was the earliest of the bunch, though, coming about 90 seconds into the match. The Panthers fired shots early and often with the wind at their back in the opening half, and Maddie Eastus ripped a shot from distance that skipped off the wet grass and forced a diving save from Evansville goalkeeper Myia Danek.

The ball skipped away from her and fell to Heinsch near the right endline in Evansville's penalty area. From a nearly impossible shooting angle, Heinsch lobbed the ball over Danek's head and into the back of the net to put the Panthers on the board. The goal made Heinsch the third Panther soccer player to reach the six-goal mark this season, joining Knoepfle and Macy Smith.

UNI continued to test Danek throughout the first half, but the goalkeeper was up to the task and made key save after key save to deny Panther scoring chances. Three minutes after Danek made a one-on-one save to prevent Knoepfle from scoring, the Purple Aces tied the match in the 24th minute with a long-range strike from Nicole Benati.

The Panthers continued to pepper Danek after conceding an equalizer. In the 36th minute, she dove to stop a close-range header from Morgan Barnette following a corner kick, then corralled a long shot from Jaylie Hicklin. Less than a minute later, Harrington hit the post with a header following a cross from Heinsch.

As the Panthers seemed destined to score the go-ahead goal in the waning minutes of the first half, Evansville snatched the lead through Brooklyn Robinson in the 42nd minute. The Purple Aces won the ball in midfield and played a long through ball to Taylor Johnson, who sent in a cross near the endline that found Robinson in the penalty area. She slotted the ball home to give Evansville a 2-1 lead.

However, right before halftime, Harrington leveled the match with an incredible individual effort. As the final seconds of the first half ticked away, an Evansville midfielder sent a loose ball backwards towards the Purple Aces' net. Harrington and two Evansville defenders gave chase as the ball bounced into the penalty area. Harrington beat everyone to the loose ball, including a charging Danek, and tapped the ball into the back of the net while somersaulting over the Evansville goalkeeper. Harrington's 11th career goal came with 11 seconds left in the first half as the match went into halftime tied 2-2.

The Panthers ultimately went ahead for good in the second half, as Knoepfle scored the game-winning goal in the 62nd minute with a fantastic strike from distance. Caroline Hazen fed Knoepfle the ball about 35 yards from goal, and Knoepfle took two touches past an Evansville defender and ripped a shot from 25 yards out. Her effort fizzed past Danek and into the top left corner to give UNI a lead it ultimately would not relinquish.

Evansville's best remaining opportunity came in the 68th minute when the Purple Aces were awarded a free kick from just outside UNI's penalty area. Kaylee Woosley fired a bullet that Caitlin Richards stopped to end the Evansville scoring chance. The Purple Aces did not record a shot on goal for the remainder of the contest as UNI moved to a perfect 9-0-0 at UNI Soccer Field in 2023.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

The 2023 Panthers have officially rewritten the offensive record books. UNI is now up to 37 total goals and 101 total points, and will look to expand on those new program records as the 2023 season progresses.
Knoepfle, who entered play on Thursday with the most total points in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC), notched her 19th point of the 2023 season with her game-winning goal. That ties her with Sarah Brandt (2017) for the second-most points in a single season in Panther soccer history. She is now five points away from matching Brynell Yount's (2017) program record of 24 points.
The goal also marked the fourth career game-winning goal for Knoepfle, all of which have come during the 2023 season. That has shot her up to a tie with Harrington for sixth place on UNI soccer's career game winning goals list.
Additionally, the goal moved Knoepfle into the team scoring lead with her seventh goal of the season. She is now tied with Emily McCart (2002) and Shanon Dechant (2003) for fourth place on UNI soccer's single-season scoring leaderboard.
Harrington's goal officially set the program record for most total points in a season. She is now tied for eighth place in program history for most career goals (11), and she remains in seventh place in program history with 35 career points. The goal also marked Harrington's 18th career game with a point, which is the seventh-highest total in program history.
With her 19th career goal, Heinsch moved one goal away from tying Yount (2015-18) and Dechant (2002-05) for second place on UNI soccer's career scoring list. Chelsie Hochstedler (2007-10) holds the program record with 23 career goals.
Heinsch's goal also marked her 43rd career point, which is the fourth-highest total in program history. It also marked her 20th career game with a point, which is tied for the third-highest total in program history.
UNI recorded its 12th win of the season on Thursday, which is the second-highest win total for a single season in UNI soccer history. The Panthers are two wins away from matching the 2017 squad's program record of 14 wins.
Hazen recorded her second assist of the season on her game-winning feed to Knoepfle. That improved the Panthers to 27 assists on the season, as the team sits two assists away from matching the 2017 team's program record of 29.
The Panthers are a perfect 9-0-0 this season at UNI Soccer Field. The Panthers will look to go unbeaten at home for the first time in program history on Oct. 22, when UNI plays its final match of the regular season against Illinois State.

UP NEXT

The Panthers hit the road this weekend to face Missouri State on Sunday in a battle between two of the top teams in the MVC. The match kicks off at 1 p.m. CT and can be streamed on ESPN+.