UE women’s soccer returns home to host UNI

UE women’s soccer picked up its first road point of the year with a 1-1 tie at Missouri State on Thursday, September 26th. Freshman defender Emmy Brenner (Arlington, Tenn. / St. Benedict at Auburndale HS) scored the Aces’ first goal at Missouri State in over a decade in Evansville’s 1-1 tie. It was Brenner’s second goal of the season, coming in the 74th minute off a corner kick. Thursday’s match was also the Aces’ best shot accuracy performance of the season with 80% of their shots landing on goal.

Northern Iowa comes to Evansville with a 6-4-1 record after cruising through the non-conference portion of the season with only two losses. But the Panthers struggled early in conference action starting with back-to-back losses for the first time all season. UNI struggled to find the back of the net in the two MVC shutout losses to UIC and Missouri State. But the Panthers’ offense got back on track in their last game against Valparaiso with a commanding 4-0 win. UNI has three players leading their offense with five goals each on the season from senior midfielder Maddie Eastus, redshirt junior forward Olivia Knoepfle, and senior forward Lauren Heinsch.

With the goal on Thursday, Brenner was named the MVC Freshman of the Week by Valley staff on Tuesday afternoon. It is Brenner’s first weekly honor and the first Freshman of the Week honor for UE since the 2022 season. Along with honors from the Valley Brenner now leads the Aces on offense. She is the only player with multiple goals on the season and tied with senior forward Hailey Autenrieb (Cincinnati / Seton HS) for most points on the team with four.