Panther soccer ties Indiana State in MVC opener

Saturday, September 20

Cedar Falls, Iowa

2 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

3-3-2, 0-0-1

Indiana State

4-3-4, 0-0-1

Indiana St.

UNI

UNI soccer vs. Western Illinois | Aug. 24, 2025 (Cedar Falls, Iowa)

Photo by: UNI Athletics

Panther soccer ties Indiana State in MVC opener

9/20/2025 5:38:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score FINAL RESULTS

Knoepfle and Flies net three goals in 3-3 draw against the Sycamores. UNI visits Murray State next Thursday.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — The UNI soccer team wrapped up its season-long four-match homestand on Saturday afternoon with a 3-3 draw against the Indiana State Sycamores in the Panthers' opening match of Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) play.

Northern Iowa trailed the Sycamores for just 87 seconds during the entirety of Saturday's contest, with a pair of goals from Olivia Knoepfle (Andover, Minn./Andover HS) and one from Allison Flies before Indiana State stormed back late in the second half.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Panthers opened with a steady pace, but the Sycamores would strike first in the 24th minute to take the lead on the opening goal by Alex Lehnert. UNI responded immediately as Knoepfle scored an unassisted goal just 87 seconds later to even the match at 1-1 in the 25th minute.

Coming out of the break, Knoepfle again found the back of the net unassisted one minute, 44 seconds into the second half for a 2-1 Panther lead. Flies added on to Northern Iowa's lead in the 54th minute of play on a pass from Sydney Burskey, putting UNI ahead by a score of 3-1.

Indiana State, who boasted the MVC's top scoring offense entering the match, would remain resilient with a pair of goals in the final five minutes from Tori Angelo and Avery Oergel, both coming off passes from Lehnert.

Knoepfle finished the match with three shot attempts on goal, while Flies tallied two shots on goal. Milan Cordone, Aynslea Ulschmid, Macy Smith and Abby O'Brien all added two shot attempts as the Panthers outshot the Sycamores by a 15-9 margin.

It was a tough battle today against a tough opponent, said UNI interim head coach Alex Place Thomas after the match. We had them 3-1 and needed to manage the game better. A tie will still carry us forward towards our goals and we will learn from this.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

Saturday's draw was the sixth tie in the all-time series between UNI and Indiana State, which now sits at 12-10-6 in favor of the Sycamores.
Olivia Knoepfle's two goals of the season bring her season total to a team-high three scores this year, tied with Macy Smith. She sits at 19 goals in her career, one from tying Brynell Yount (2015-18) and Shannon Dechant (2002-05) for third-most in team history. Knopfle also tied Yount with her 15th career match with a goal, fourth-most in UNI history.
Saturday marked the fifth time in Knoepfle's career that she has scored at least one goal in consecutive matches. Knoepfle scored in consecutive matches twice in 2023 and twice in 2024, the latter of which included a three-match streak with a goal.
Flies became the tenth different Panther to score a goal this season, joining Knoepfle (3), Smith (3), Denise Camarena (2), Burskey (2), Sophia Balistreri(1), Haylee Braun (1), Olivia Mehl (1), Ella Ubben (1) and Aynslea Ulschmid (1).
Sydney Burksey tallied her first assist of the season and fifth of her career in Saturday's draw.

UP NEXT
The Panthers return to action next Thursday, Sept. 25 as they visit Murray State in Kentucky. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT with live coverage available on ESPN+.

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.