The UNI soccer team’s season came to an end this last Friday as they fell to Evansville in the Missouri Valley Conference women’s soccer semifinals. The Panthers ended the year with a record of 7-9-5 , battling through some tough injuries. One soccer star that shined especially bright this season was junior goalkeeper Whitney Blunt. Blunt was named second team All-Conference as she broke the school record for most shutouts in a season and also led the MVC in save percentage (.846). She was pleased with the attitude and perseverance of her team saying “This year’s season went great. In the beginning we all could feel something special about this team. Through the ups and downs we faced, we always felt something special.”

Soccer has been big in Blunt’s life from an early age. She started playing soccer when she was five but was kicking a ball around for as long as she can remember. Since then, she has worked very hard to get to where she is today. She started playing with a ODP (Olympic Development Program) team when she was in sixth grade.

“From there I was able to get great coaching to help me succeed in my goalkeeping position”

Blunt says. With the help of her coaches and parents, she realized she had serious potential. It is clear that potential is being reached.

Great seasons like this one don’t happen without putting a tremendous amount of work in. Blunt and the team do a lot of offseason workouts including lifting, conditioning, and skill work. With this season wrapping up, Blunt is already looking forward to exceeding expectations next season. “We still have to prove to people, especially in our conference, that we are a hard working team and each game will be a fight till the end,” she also added: “We believe our team has great potential to win the tournament and get the bid to the NCAA tournament” she said.

The soccer team has shown much improvement over the last couple years and hope to continue taking the program to the next level. It is players like Whitney Blunt that make this happen. Not only does she put the work in, she also enjoys watching and learning from the pros. Tim Howard (USA goalkeeper) and Manuel Neuer (Germany goalkeeper) are the two players she looks up to most. These are two of the best goalies in the game today and Blunt explains “I learn a lot just by watching them play.” With her good attitude, dedication, and strong work ethic, she is setting herself up for another great season next year.