University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Illinois State
UNI soccer hosts Illinois State for fourth annual Kick MITO Game
10/9/2025 10:30:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Fans encouraged to wear green for matchup with Redbirds in support of mitochondrial disease awareness.
UNI soccer (4-4-3 / 1-1-2 MVC) vs. Illinois State (4-4-6 / 1-0-3 MVC)
- Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025
- 1 p.m. CT
- Cedar Falls, Iowa | UNI Soccer Field
- WATCH (ESPN+) [Tim Harwood: Play-by-Play / Kelsey Randall: Analyst)
- LIVE STATS
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CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- After closing out a three-match road trip last weekend, the UNI soccer team returns home to Cedar Falls this Saturday with four of its final five regular season contests at the UNI Soccer Field, beginning with the Illinois State Redbirds this weekend.
Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT with live coverage of the match available on ESPN+. Fans are encouraged to to wear green for the match for the Panthers' fourth annual Kick MITO Game in support of mitochondrial disease awareness.
The Kick MITO Game was created in memory of Chris, Natalie and current Panther forward Macy Smith's son and brother, Jace Smith, who passed away due to a mitochondrial disease.Â
Saturday's match will be a rematch of last season's Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Tournament opener, which was won by the Redbirds by a score of 1-0 in Chicago. Both teams tied in Normal last season in the regular season finale. Illinois State holds a 19-9-1 lead in the all-time series.
Northern Iowa returns home after securing its first MVC victory of the season following a 2-1 win at Valparaiso last weekend. In the match, Haylee Braun, who was named the MVC's Player of the Week on Tuesday, scored both Panther goals in the 37th and 76th minute with the second goal being assisted by Kylie Knief. In goal, Thordis Melsted made three saves to record her first collegiate win in goal. UNI enters Saturday's match in a three-way tie with Indiana State and Belmont for fourth in the MVC standings.
Ten different Panthers have found the back of the net this year, with Smith leading the way with four goals, followed by Olivia Knoepfle and Braun with three goals in 2025. Denise Camarena, Sydney Burskey and Allison Flies have netted two each, while Sophia Balistreri, Ella Ubben, Aynslea Ulschmid and Olivia Mehl have all scored once.Â
In the record books, Knoepfle enters Saturday's match one assist shy of breaking another Ashley Harrington's (2020-23) record for career matches with an assist (13) after breaking her career assists record earlier this year, while also sitting second in team history in career points (51). Additionally, Camarena sits tied for eighth in UNI history with nine career assists, as Smith has recorded five career game-winning goals, fourth-most in team history.
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SCOUTING ILLINOIS STATE
The Redbirds come to Cedar Falls with a 4-4-6 record and 1-0-3 mark in league play, sitting one point ahead of UNI in the MVC standings. Illinois State tied Evansville in a scoreless draw in its last outing on Sunday at home.
Under the leadership of second-year head coach Raleigh DeRose, the Redbirds boast one of the best goalkeeping units in the league and nation, led by keeper Madi Valenti. Starting all 14 matches this season, Valenti has allowed just 11 total goals (0.81 per match) with a .838 save percentage while posting an MVC-best seven shutouts this year.
Forward Rylann Law leads Illinois State with four goals this season, with Chloe Cline and Danica Key also netting multiple Redbird goals. Kaya Durkee has led ISU with three assists on the year.
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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 2025 schedule and roster, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.
