Sept. 29, 2007

Box Score

The Northern Sun Conference women's soccer season began today and the Peacocks hosted the Wolves of Northern State University. The two teams entered the game with winning records; the Wolves at 7-3-1 and the Peacocks at 6-5-0. The foes spent the first 75 minutes feeling each other out before each team found the goal in the final 15 minutes of regulation. Two scoreless overtimes left the Wolves and Peacocks deadlocked at one and a tie on their conference record.

The Peacocks scored after a restart gave Cara Mauldin a clear look at the goal from 30 yards out. Mauldin drove the ball into the box where Erica Baedke put her foot on it and pushed the ball past the Wolves' keeper. As time wound down, Upper Iowa looked as if they might lock up the first NSIC win of the season, but Northern State had other ideas.

With two minutes remaining in the match Katherine Bronson put a head on a corner kick from Star Swan to tie the match at 1-1. The Peacocks had one last chance with 30 seconds remaining as Amy Campbell took a pass and went one on one with the Wolves' keeper. Campbell's shot sailed to the right, just wide of the goal, and the game moved to overtime.

The two teams battled evenly through the two 10-minute overtimes and the game ended in a 1-1 tie. Melissa Heitzmann was excellent in goal for the home team as she stopped three breakaway attempts from the Northern State forwards that could have given the visitors a commanding lead. On the day Heitzman picked up 11 saves.

Upper Iowa will return to Pattison Field tomorrow afternoon, Sept. 30, at 1:00 p.m. to line up against the Marauders of the University of Mary in their second conference match.