UNI soccer drops season finale to Drake, 1-0 - UNI Athletics
By Google News Sports ·
UNI soccer drops season finale to Drake, 1-0
Northern Iowa closes out 2026 season with one goal loss to Bulldogs at home.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa â The UNI soccer team held in-state rival Drake scoreless in the second half, but could not find an equalizing goal as the Panthers closed out their 2026 regular season with a 1-0 loss to the Bulldogs at home on a cold and drizzly Thursday afternoon in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) action.
The Bulldogs scored in the first 20 minutes of play and outshot Northern Iowa by a narrow 9-7 margin, including 5-3 in shots on goal. UNI finishes the season with a 1-13-3 record overall and 1-6-2 in league play.
HOW IT HAPPENED Thursday's match was highly contested early on, with neither team registering a shot in the first 18 minutes. Drake would capitalize on its first shot attempt of the day with Isabella Balsley scoring a goal off a UNI deflection in the box in the 18th minute. Ella Ubben tried to break the scoreless tie just minutes later with a pair shot attempts, but both were off target. Aly Arena registered the Panthers first shot on goal in the 43rd minute with a high-arching attempt, which was saved by Drake's Addie Ford.Â
The first shot attempt in the second half by either team wouldn't come until the 57th minute, when Panther goalkeeper Hailey Luedtke recorded a save on a Hannah Renz shot attempt for Drake. Luedtke would record her second save of the half in the 60th minute, denying Angela Gutierrez and the Bulldogs their second goal of the match.
Near the midway point of the second half, Kacy Kuehl attempted a deep shot attempt for UNI in the 69th minute but the shot was saved by Ford. Kuehl would have one more long range shot on goal in the 86th minute in an attempt to tie the game, but couldn't convert on the…
Originally published by Google News Sports
