Salyars, Amity Beiner, Lieb peeling off /// Photo: Charlie McCardle •
After a decade of the dominating the DI Midwest, the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) did not make the fall playoffs last year. The Panthers were player-run in 2015, but this fall alumna Meghan Flanigan stepped in as head coach and is attempting to restart the legacy created by the late, great Steve Murra.
“It was a whole new, beginning team,” Flanigan said. “It’s hard to have player-coaches, but they did a good job of keeping the program alive. We started from square one, doing fundamentals and recruiting – the numbers had fallen drastically.”
Flanigan had played with current seniors Angie McCardle, Eileen Lieb (captain), Megan Salyars and Olivia Frey when they were freshmen. They, along with captain Molly Langhenry, are the role models. They drive the on-field performance and represented UNI at previous DI fall championships.
“UNI has always been a powerhouse, and being on the team when it was so successful – when we were beating teams out of the water – and then coming in when every game mattered and was a fight to win – that was a tough transition for me,” Flanigan said. “The players knew we were underdogs but they wanted to make a statement. They’re proud to play for UNI and know the history behind the program.”
The team lost its season-opener 31-22 to Iowa State.
“After we fell short to Iowa State, we played Northern Illinois the following week. That’s when I saw the drastic change in how they performed,” Flanigan said. “They had been working hard but then they started to play with urgency. That’s when I knew we’d have a shot in the post-season.”
The Panthers won their games against Northern Illinois, University of Iowa, UW Madison and UW Milwaukee, and thus entered the final week of play 4-1. Minnesota was 5-0 at the time and in the best shape for DI fall playoffs, but the week-six result against Northern Iowa would affect the post-season hopes for UNI, Northern Illinois (4-2) and Iowa State (4-2).
“Their mindset going in was that they had nothing to lose and everything to gain,” Flanigan said of the lead-in into the Minnesota match. “We knew we had to pull something out to have a chance at the post-season. … I’ve never seen them play as hard as they did in that game. Everything started clicking and you could see the passion and fire in their eyes.”
UNI gave the Gophers their best game of the season, falling short 27-25. But the two bonus points sealed up that second-place finish for the Panthers, and Flanigan immediately submitted at-large paperwork to USA Rugby. This week, the team was informed that it will travel to Mid-American champion Bowling Green State for a play-in match on Nov. 12. The victor will advance to the DI fall quarterfinals on Nov. 19 in Cincinnati.
“They’re starting to look like the teams I’ve played on,” Flanigan transported back to those fall final-four days. “They’ve proven themselves – especially in the UMinn game. It was the UNI team I’ve always known and loved.”
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