UNI soccer looks to upend Missouri State in crucial MVC battle

UNI soccer (12-2-1) at Missouri State (9-1-5)

1 p.m. CT | Oct. 15, 2023
Springfield, Missouri | Betty & Bobby Allison South Stadium
ESPN+

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- UNI soccer faces perhaps its most important test of the 2023 season on Sunday, as the Panthers visit the Missouri State Bears in a critically important match for Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) postseason seeding. UNI and Missouri State are currently tied for second place in the MVC standings entering Sunday's contest, and both squads sit one point behind first-place Drake.

Sunday's high-stakes matchup will mark another chapter in the most played fixture in Panther soccer history. UNI and Missouri State will meet for the 31st time this weekend, and it's the first meeting between the Panthers and Bears since meeting in the 2022 MVC semifinals. Missouri State won that match 2-1 en-route to winning the 2022 MVC Tournament. The Bears won both games against UNI last season.

The Panthers have responded well after losing 4-1 to Murray State on Oct. 5, picking up wins in their next two matches. The most recent came on Thursday, a 3-2 come-from-behind win over Evansville that marked the first MVC loss of the season for the Purple Aces. Lauren Heinsch opened the scoring less than two minutes into the match, lobbing a rebounded shot from Maddie Eastus over the goalkeeper from a nearly impossible angle. Evansville scored the next two goals of the contest before Ashley Harrington leveled the match with an incredible individual effort just before halftime. Olivia Knoepfle scored her fourth game-winning goal of the 2023 season in the 62nd minute to secure the Panthers' 12th win of the season.

UNI set two program records in the victory over Evansville. Heinsch's early goal marked the 35th of the 2023 season for the Panthers, which set a program record for the most goals scored in a single season in Panther soccer history. Harrington's goal set a program record for the most total points recorded in a season. The team now sits at 37 goals and 102 total points with three matches remaining in the regular season, and will look to expand on those new program records as the season progresses. Additionally, the team's 28 assists are one shy of the 2017 squad's program record of 29 assists.

Knoepfle, meanwhile, is inching towards the top of Panther soccer's single-season points leaderboard. With 19 points so far this season, Knoepfle is tied 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. Knoepfle's goal marked her seventh of the season, which moved her into the team scoring lead and tied her with Emily McCart (2002) and Shanon Dechant (2003) for fourth place on UNI soccer's single-season scoring leaderboard.

Heinsch scored her 19th career goal on Thursday and is one goal away from tying Yount (2015-18) and Dechant (2002-05) for second place on UNI's career scoring list. Chelsie Hochstedler (2007-10) holds the program record with 43 career goals.

The battle between UNI's potent offense and Missouri State's lockdown defense should be a quintessential strength-on-strength battle. The Bears are putting together another excellent season in 2023, and Missouri State currently is the highest-ranked MVC team in RPI (100) and ranks two places ahead of UNI in the United Soccer Coaches Midwest Poll (No. 8).

A stout defense has been Missouri State's greatest strength so far this season. The Bears rank 12th nationally in goals against average (0.467) and sixth nationally in shutout percentage (0.667). Missouri State is unbeaten in conference play and has shut out six of its seven opponents in MVC action. The Bears are currently riding a five-match shutout streak and have not allowed a goal since Sept. 21 against Illinois State. Missouri State has allowed just seven goals in 2023, the fewest number of goals allowed in the MVC.

Goalkeeper Camielle Day has anchored the Missouri State defense. Day ranks first in the MVC and eighth nationally with eight shutouts, and she's won MVC Goalkeeper of the Week three times during the 2023 season. As a team, the Bears' 0.885 save percentage ranks fourth nationally.

Offensively, Gracie English leads the team with six goals. English scored her sixth goal of the season in Missouri State's most recent match, a 1-0 victory over Indiana State on Thursday. The goal marked English's fourth game-winning goal of the 2023 season, and she's tied with Knoepfle for the MVC lead. Grace O'Keefe leads both Missouri State and the MVC with six assists.

Sunday's contest could go a long way in determining the final MVC standings. Missouri State and UNI sit one point behind first-place Drake and, entering play on Sunday, the trio of teams have formed some separation from the rest of the MVC. UIC sits in fourth place but are four points behind the Bears and Panthers with three matches remaining. Valparaiso and Murray State are five points behind UNI and Missouri State.

With both UNI and Missouri State having already played Drake, Sunday's match could ultimately determine which two squads advance directly to the 2023 MVC semifinals on Nov. 2. There's still plenty that could shake out with three MVC match days remaining, but Sunday's game has plenty of postseason implications.

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