This past Saturday, the UNI women’s soccer team was back in action, hosting the Indiana State University Sycamores at the UNI Soccer Field in Cedar Falls. The Panthers entered the game with a record of 4-7-1 on the season, while the Sycamores came in 3-7-2. The Panthers struck first, but they couldn’t hang on, losing by a final score of 3-1.

UNI got the scoring started from a 10th minute goal from freshman Ashley Harrington. This gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead, and that’s where the score would stay until Sycamore sophomore Sasha Thompson scored a goal in the 38th minute, evening the score at 1-1. That would remain the score until halftime.

Indiana State would get back on the board in the 51st minute when CeCe Wahlberg put a shot in the back of the net. They would extend their lead further not too long afterwards, with Thompson scoring her second goal of the day in the 60th minute to take a 3-1 lead. Neither team could score in the final 30 minutes, and Indiana State came away with the 3-1 victory.

Offensively, the Panthers managed to attempt more shots than their counterparts. UNI attempted 10 shots, eight of which were on goal. Comparatively, the Sycamores attempted nine shots, only five of which were on goal.

The key difference was the goaltending. Indiana State’s Maddie Alexander played all 90 minutes and allowed only one goal, making seven saves. UNI’s Caitlin Richards managed only one save while allowing three goals before being subbed out in the 65th minute. Her sub, Chloe Russo, played the remainder of the game, securing one save and not allowing a goal.

With the loss, the Panthers fall to 4-8-1 on the season. They will have a pair of conference games on the road the rest of the week. They will travel to Missouri State this Wednesday, Oct. 13 to take on the Bears before traveling to Valparaiso on Sunday, Oct. 17.