UNI Football vs Drake
- 3 p.m. | October 4
- Cedar Falls, Iowa | UNI soccer field
- ESPN+ | Tim Harwood: game by game, Spencer Steffy: analyst
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — After a road trip to Indiana that left the Panthers undefeated on the road, they return home to face their Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) rivals, the Drake Bulldogs.
After two losses to Drake in the 2021 season, including a 3-2 overtime loss in the MVC tournament, UNI soccer is looking for revenge on their home turf on Thursday afternoon. In an early afternoon game with a kickoff scheduled an hour earlier at 3 p.m., the Panthers will be hoping to improve to 2-2-2 in the Valley.
THE PANTHERS:
– UNI soccer won two draws in the fourth week of MVC action against Evansville and Indiana State. The Panthers scored first in both games but late goals would prevent UNI from picking up two points
in either competition.
– The Panthers continue to attack the net this season. UNI lead the valley in points per game, shots on goal per game, total goals and total points. The Panthers are also one of the top 100 teams in the nation in shots on goal per game at 77th with an average of 6.58 shots on goal.
– With two draws last week, for the first time since 2018, UNI have had two draws in a row. It’s also the first time since 2016 that the Panthers have tied two Missouri Valley Conference opponents in a row.
– Junior Striker Lauren Heinsch continues to lead the Panthers’ offense, adding another goal to its season tally on Thursday night. Heinsch now has four goals, eight points, 37 shots and 15 SOG.
THE BULLDOGS:
– Drake is coming off a shutout win over the Illinois State Redbirds last Thursday. The Bulldogs did not play this weekend and will enter this week’s game with a full week off.
– The Bulldogs’ victory over Illinois State last week snapped a 10-game winless streak for the team. In those 10 games, Drake tied four of the games while giving up the other six. It was the Bulldogs’ longest winning streak since 2013, when they went eight straight games without a win.
– Drake is led by junior forward Emma Nagel, rookie Layla Kelbel and second Makenna Shepard. The trio combined seven of the team’s 12 goals. Nagel leads the team in goals with three and points with seven.
– The Bulldogs saw two players score their first goal with Drake last week against the Redbirds. The eldest Meghan Brown scored the first goal of her career after playing 59 games for the Bulldogs. Freshman defenseman Grace Smith also found her first collegiate goal in the 54th minute of Thursday’s game.
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