Box Score
Box Score
Friday’s match against Fort Hays State could not have started more perfectly for the Upper Iowa men’s soccer team. Freshman forward Jared Newman scored in the 11th minute to give the Peacocks a 1-0 lead over the No. 1 team in the MIAA and at that point, UIU seemed poised for an upset.
“It was like a dream come true,” assistant coach
Jason Olsgard said referring to Newman's goal. "The guys came out right away with so much fire – it’s actually what we’ve been looking for all season.”
That momentum faded quickly as FHSU connected with the back of the net three consecutive times. UIU made one final push scoring with less than 20 minutes left, but the Tigers held on for the 3-2 conference victory. With the win the Tigers improve to 9-4-1 overall and 5-2 in the MIAA, while the Peacocks fall to 4-9 this year and 2-5 in the conference.
“At the end of the first half our guys kind of – I don’t know if it was fatigue because we had a game yesterday – but our communication broke down and we allowed those goals,” Olsgard said.
UIU had the start they wanted as Newman scored his second goal of the season and his second in two days at the 11:11 mark in the first period, but the Tigers responded quickly. Tomas Mares scored his eighth goal of the year in the 18th minute to tie the match at 1-1.
The offensive onslaught continued as the Tigers kept up a high tempo and outshot the Peacocks 17-4 in the first half. That led to their second goal of the match coming with less than ten minutes before halftime. This time, it was Diego Cabral who found Daniel Peralta with the cross and redirect. Peralta headed the ball to the back of the net, scoring his sixth goal of the year for the Tigers.
FHSU took that 2-1 lead into halftime, but continued to pressure the Peacock defense after the break. In the 49th minute, Cabral found Emmanuel Brown inside the UIU penalty box and Brown connected with the open net to extend the Tigers lead to 3-1.
That dream come true for the Peacocks turned into a nightmare at that point, but then the Peacock defense stiffened and the offense kicked into gear.
UIU went on the offensive only moments after freshman forward Andres Cuesta was inserted into the lineup. Alejandro Castaneda went right to him, finiding Cuesta inside the 18-yard box. The freshman fought off three defenders to take only his second shot of the year. The ball ricocheted off a Tiger defender before finding the back of the net. The Peacocks were right back in the game at 3-2 with just under 18 minutes left.
Although the offense found more room in those final minutes, they could not tie the match. Ultimately, UIU held strong against the No. 17 team in the nation and the No. 1 team in the region, but in the end the Tiger attack was too much to handle.
The loss snapped a two-match Peacock win streak.
UIU will try to start a new one next week as they host Clarke College on Wednesday at home. Game time for that match is set at 3 p.m. UIU will play two more home matches in 2012 following the Clarke game. The Peacocks will host MIAA-foe Southwest Baptist next Friday and Lindenwood University next Sunday before finishing the season at Truman State on October 26.
