CEDAR FALLS – UNI soccer overcame a late deficit with goals by Olivia Knoepfle and Macy Smith in the final six minutes of play to lift the Panthers to a narrow 3-2 victory over a persistent St. Ambrose team at the UNI Soccer Field on Wednesday afternoon.
The Panthers, who outshot the Fighting Bees by a 28-5 margin and a 11-5 mark in shots on goal, surrendered their first goals to St. Ambrose since 2016, but managed to rally late after the Bees pulled ahead in the 77th minute.
Northern Iowa brought the early energy and dominated possession throughout much of the match, but struggled to finish on offensive attacks from both inside and outside the box. St. Ambrose would crack the scoreboard first in the 25th minute as Lauren Malone put the Bees ahead 1-0, the only goal of the first half on an unassisted play.
Just two minutes into the second half, Marissa Gross leveled the match with her second career goal on an assist by Morgan Barnette, the first of her career. Continuing to pressure on offense, the Bees would find the back of the net for a second time in the 77th minute as Jenna Horst found the low-right corner of the net, slipping the go-ahead goal past UNI keeper Caitlin Richards for a 2-1 advantage.
Northern Iowa would respond just seven minutes later as Knoepfle scored the equalizer in the 84th minute on a pass from Maddie Eastus. Less than three minutes later, Smith, on a long shot attempt from the far side of the field, netted the match-winning score over the head of SAU goalkeeper Grace Kucher, putting the Panthers ahead for good to secure the narrow one-goal win.
“I first want to tip my cap to Jon (Mannall) and his St. Ambrose team,” said UNI head coach Bruce Erickson following the win. “They fought and deserved something from the game. Really forced us out of our game. I was pleased with our resilience to find a way out and get the win. Not our best performance and we need to get back to work.”
Eastus and Lauren Heinsch led the Panthers with four shot attempts each, while Knoepfle and Olivia Bohl each attempted three shots. In goal, Richards recorded three saves to secure her second win of the season.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
The Panthers improve to 12-0-0 after Wednesday’s victory over the Bees.
UNI has now won six consecutive non-conference regular season matches at home.
Northern Iowa’s three second-half goals are tied for fourth-most in a second half in program history.
The Panthers committed just two fouls during Wednesday’s contest, tied for second-fewest in a match in team history.
Lauren Heinsch surpassed 200 career shot attempts and 100 career shot on goal attempts on Wednesday, the first player in Panther history to reach both milestones.
Marissa Gross’ goal in the 47th minute was her second of the season and of her career, while the assist by Morgan Barnette was the first assist of her collegiate career.
Olivia Knoepfle’s 84th minute goal tied Barnette for the team lead early in the season with two, and was also the tenth goal of her career. She is now tied for ninth in UNI history with 11 career goals.
Maddie Eastus recorded her eighth career assist on Knoepfle’s match-tying goal in the second half, moving her to seventh in team history all-time.
Macy Smith’s 87th minute go-ahead goal was her second career match-winning score.
UP NEXT
The Panthers return home on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 1 to host the Upper Iowa Peacocks on Senior Day. Live coverage of the match will be available on ESPN+.