University of Northern Iowa Athletics
History & Memorable Moments
Feb. 23, 2000 - Six months prior to the start of the inaugural season, Linda Whitehead is named UNI’s first head women’s soccer coach, joining the Panthers after spending the prior four years at the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga.
Aug. 25, 2000 - The Panthers play their first game in program history in Cape Girardeau, Missouri in a 1-1 tie against the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks.
Aug. 31, 2000 - Jane Masteller scores the first hat trick in team history as part of a 7-6 win over Morningside. Masteller would record another hat trick exactly one year later against Western Illinois.
Sept. 1, 2000 - Northern Iowa plays host to the Creighton Bluejays in its first-ever Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) match.
Sept. 10, 2000 - UNI wins its first game in school history with a 3-1 victory at home over the Omaha Mavericks.
Oct. 18, 2002 - Emily McCart joins Jane Masteller as the only other Panther in the program’s first three seasons to notch a hat trick, doing so in a 4-0 shutout against Indiana State.
Nov. 3, 2002 - The Panthers earn their first MVC Tournament win with a 2-0 shutout at Missouri State.
2003 - The Panthers post their first winning season as a program with a 10-8-1 record to finish fourth in the MVC standings.
2004 - Forming a partnership with the Cedar Valley Youth Soccer Association, UNI begins a 16-year tenure playing its home matches at the Cedar Valley Soccer Complex in neighboring Waterloo.
Oct. 12, 2003 - Anne Marie Witko notches her 14th and final shutout of her career, a school record that would stand for 14 years.
2005 - Kathy Kakoyianni-Bering succeeds Linda Whitehead as the program’s second head coach. She would coach the Panthers for three seasons.
2007 - UNI wins the MVC’s Fair Play Award for the first time, recognizing the team in the league with the fewest penalty cards on the season. The Panthers would go on to win the award again in 2015, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
2008 - Jen Plante is named the program’s third head coach, spending just one season as the head Panther with a 3-15-1 record.
Sept. 28, 2008 - Chelsie Hochstedler notches her fourth consecutive game with a goal scored in a 3-1 win over North Dakota.
2008 - Goalkeeper Lauren Potzman is named MVC Freshman of the Year after posting a 1.82 goals against average and recording two shutouts in 16 games and nine starts.
2009 - James Price becomes UNI’s fourth head coach to kick off a seven year stint as the leader of the program.
Oct. 29, 2009 - Chelsie Hochstedler sets a new program record with her 21st career goal coming against Creighton in the MVC Tournament. She would finish her career with 23 career goals the following year.
2014 - Charlotte Jones sets a new single-season program record with eight assists.
2016 - Chris Logan takes over as the Panther head coach, leading Northern Iowa to an 8-8-3 record and third-place finish in the MVC in his lone season at the helm.
Sept. 7, 2016 - Jamie Althiser posts the program’s first hat trick in 14 seasons with three goals against Midland in a 6-1 victory.
Feb. 10, 2017 - Sixteen-year MVC soccer coaching veteran Bruce Erickson is named the sixth head coach of the program. Erickson had previously led Creighton to a pair of MVC regular season championships, five MVC Tournament titles and five NCAA Tournament appearances.
2017 - The Panthers set a program record with a 14-win season, winning their first six matches of the year as part of the team’s longest ever winning streak, while finishing the season as MVC regular season runners-up.
2017 - Brynell Young breaks the school record for single-season goals scored (11) and points recorded (24) during a dominant offensive season.
Nov. 5, 2017 - Northern Iowa makes its first appearance in the MVC Tournament championship match, falling short against Missouri State in a 1-0 loss.
Sept. 16, 2018 - UNI upends in-state rival Iowa State for the first time in a 1-0 road victory in Ames.
2020 - Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 season is moved to the winter/spring of 2021. UNI goes 4-4-3 in the shortened season and placed fourth in the MVC standings.
Aug. 21, 2021 - After multiple seasons played off-campus, the Panthers make their debut on their brand new on-campus field, located just steps from the UNI-Dome and the Wellness-Recreation Center.
Sept. 9, 2023 - The Panthers finish the non-conference schedule with a 7-0-1 record, the first unbeaten non-conference record in program history.
Oct. 1, 2023 - Head coach Bruce Erickson wins his 300th career match as the Panthers shut out Indiana State at home, 2-0.
Nov. 1, 2023 - Lauren Heinsch and Olivia Knoepfle become the first UNI duo to earn First Team All-MVC honors in the same season after a record setting year. Heinsch also became the program’s first two-time First Team All-MVC honoree.