University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Upper Iowa
UNI soccer to honor senior class on Sunday against Upper Iowa
8/30/2024 1:34:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Panthers to celebrate six seniors prior to the second contest of a three-match homestand.
UNI soccer (2-1-1 / 0-0-0 MVC) vs. Upper Iowa (0-0-0 / 0-0-0 GLVC)
- 1 p.m. CT | Sept. 1, 2024
- UNI Soccer Field
- Cedar Falls, Iowa
- ESPN+ (Tim Harwood: Play-by-Play / Spencer Steffy: Analyst)
- LIVE STATS
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- The second leg of a three-match homestand for the UNI soccer team will get underway on Sunday afternoon as the Panthers host the Upper Iowa Peacocks in non-conference action.
Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT at the UNI Soccer Field, with live coverage also available on ESPN+. The Panthers will also celebrate Senior Day and its six senior players, Morgan Barnette, Maddie Celarek, Maddie Eastus, Jaylie Hicklin, Payton Nolan and Jenna Nyblom.
This will be the first all-time meeting between the two programs separated by just 55 miles. Northern Iowa is 5-2-1 under head coach Bruce Erickson when playing opponents for the first time.
Sunday's matchup comes after the Panthers narrowly secured a 3-2 victory over St. Ambrose on Wednesday afternoon to extend their regular season non-conference home winning streak to six matches. Trailing at halftime and again in the final 13 minutes, UNI scored three second half goals, including a pair by Olivia Knoepfle in the 84th minute to tie the match and the winning score by Macy Smith just three minutes later.
Knoepfle and Barnette both enter the match as the Panthers' co-leaders in goals scored (2) and points (5) on the season, while Lauren Heinsch continues to eye the program's all-time scoring record, just two goals shy of Chelsie Hochstedler's (2007-10) record of 23 career goals.
SCOUTING THE PEACOCKS
Upper Iowa will play its first match of the season on Sunday while the Panthers are already four matches into the 2024 campaign. Under the leadership of third year head coach Josh Davis, the Peacocks look to break through after consecutive seasons with just two matches in the win column.
UIU was picked to finish 13th out of 15 teams in the Great Lakes Valley Conference after a tough 1-10-2 mark in league play last season in a year where it netted just 11 total goals. Leah Buerck, Giovanna Alexa Garcia and Meghan Zwicker all return for the Peacocks having each scored two goals each in 2023, while junior goalkeeper Isabelle Wagner returns after appearing in 15 matches with 70 saves (.684 save percentage) and a 2.64 goals allowed average.
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.
