UNI's midfielder Sophia Balistreri's first career goal helped the Panthers to their first Missouri Valley Conference Tournament win in five years.

After 187 minutes of scoreless play, UNI soccer found a goal in its most crucial moment. The Panthers took a 1-0 win over Belmont at Flames Field in overtime to make the MVC Tournament quarterfinal. With new postseason overtime rules, UNI played through two full overtime periods to grab the 1-0 win.

The Panthers had several chances at the net in regular time, particularly during the second half of the match. UNI attempted three shots in the first 45 minutes but didn't quite make it to the net until early in the second half. A corner kick was awarded to the Panthers in the 46th minute where forward Ashley Harrington was able to launch the ball near the net. Several Belmont players got in front of the shot knocking it away from the goal.

Both teams would trade shots on goal back and forth over the next 20 minutes. Forward Sophia Meier and Harrington had close chances for UNI but couldn't get the ball past Bruins goalkeeper Sarah Doyle. The Panthers did get the last shot of full time, as forward Lauren Heinsch had the ball alone on the near side. With two Belmont defenders pressing in, Heinsch shot the ball straight to Doyle in the final four seconds of the second half.

But UNI wasted no time getting back on offense in the first overtime period. The Panthers had an early chance off a corner kick from defender Allison Whitaker that went wide right in the 94th minute. UNI had another corner kick awarded to them four minutes later that was taken by Harrington.

Harrington's initial shot made it to the set piece in front of the net, where Whitaker got her head on the ball to set up Balistreri. Balistreri fired off a quick right-footed shot past a diving Doyle to score the Panthers' lone goal of the game. The goal was Balistreri's first of her collegiate career and unassisted. 

UNI held on for the rest of the first overtime period and added six more shots in the second overtime period. While the Panthers didn't find the back of the net in the second overtime period, Balistreri's goal would be enough to send UNI to the quarterfinals.

Heinsch led the team in shots with seven attempts and three on goal. Harrington, Whitaker, and forward Kennedy Rieken also had a multi-shot game, while four other Panthers had a shot each (Balistreri, Meier, Jaylie Hicklin, Siri Ott). Goalkeeper Caitlin Richards posted her sixth clean sheet of the season, making five saves over 110 minutes of play.

UP NEXT:
UNI gets two days off before their next match of the MVC Tournament. The Panthers will face the third-seeded UIC Flames on Sunday, Oct. 30. In their regular season matchup, the two teams played to a 0-0 draw at Flames Field. Kickoff for the postseason match is set for noon in Chicago