University of Northern Iowa
Illinois State
Panthers to face Illinois State in regular season finale on Sunday
10/26/2024 1:15:00 PM | Women's Soccer
UNI looks to secure a top-four seed in road trip to Normal against the Redbirds.
UNI soccer (9-5-3 / 4-3-2 MVC) at Illinois State (5-9-3 / 3-4-2 MVC)
- 12 p.m. CT | Oct. 27, 2024
- Adelaide Street Stadium
- Normal, Ill.
- ESPN+Â
- LIVE STATS
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CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — UNI soccer will wrap up the 2024 regular season on the road on Sunday afternoon against the Illinois State Redbirds with Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Tournament seeding still up for grabs in the final match of the year.
Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. CT at the Adelaide Street Stadium in Normal, Illinois. Live coverage will be available on ESPN+.
The Panthers secured a spot in the MVC Tournament with their 3-1 victory over Murray State on Thursday. Northern Iowa can secure the four-seed in the tournament with a win and a Belmont loss to Indiana State, or with a win by three or more goals and a Belmont tie. UNI has qualified for the conference tournament in each of the last five seasons. The Panthers also have won their previous three matchups with the Redbirds, tied for their longest win streak in the series all-time.Â
The Panthers currently sit at fifth in the league standings with 14 points at 4-3-3. Missouri State has already clinched the conference's regular season title, top-seed and home field advantage throughout the tournament.
In Thursday's win over the Racers, Northern Iowa scored three goals in the final eight minutes of regulation after a 40-minute lightning delay. Lauren Heinsch tied the match with an 82nd minute penalty kick, with Ella Anliker scoring the game-winning goal in the 85th and Maddie Eastus adding on in the final minute of play.
In net, goalkeeper Caitlin Richards, who earlier this season set the program record for career shutouts, looks to inch closer to another school record with Anne Marie Witko's (2000-03) record of career minutes in goal, sitting just 117 minutes of game play away from breaking. Richards and Witko are the only two goalkeepers in UNI history to record over 6,000 career minutes in net.
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SCOUTING THE REDBIRDS
The Redbirds close out their regular season after falling at home to Missouri State by a 1-0 score. After finishing last season 3-9-4, Illinois State has faced challenges this year with nine of their matches ending in draws. Last season, Illinois State came up just shy of qualifying for the MVC Tournament, losing to UIC and UNI during crucial matches.Â
Under the leadership of first year head coach Raleigh DeRose, the Redbirds are led by freshman Eiley Henderson, Chloe Cline and Eve Gricius who have collectively scored six of the Redbirds ten total goals this season. Eiley Henderson has also taken 24 shot attempts, contributing to Illinois State's total of 143 shots this year. In goal, Madi Valenti leads the team with 70 saves and holds a .753 save percentage.
UNI women's soccer action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (UNI Panther Soccer), X (@UNI_Soccer) and on Instagram (@unipanthersoccer). The full 2024 schedule and roster, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.
