Box Score

Women’s soccer head coach Brian Bahl knew Valeria Ptasinski was on the verge of a breakout. His senior midfielder had gone scoreless through the first ten matches of the season on 16 shots. Something clicked and she has since exploded on the scence. Over the last three matches, she has found the back of the net twice. Ptasinski’s second score of the year could not have come at a better time for the Peacocks.  

Redshirt freshman Lauren Rohrmeier found Ptasinski in the 17th minute of Saturday’s Northern Sun Conference match from about 18 yards out. The senior turned and fired and found the back of the net for what would end up as the game-winner.  UIU shut down the Beavers of Bemidji State and held onto the 1-0 victory in Bemidji, Minnesota.

For the defense, which came to play from the very start, it was their eighth shutout of the year. With the win, UIU improves to 10-2-1 overall and 7-2-1 in the NSIC.

The Peacock victory snapped a six-match win streak for the Beavers and will likely move UIU past BSU in the polls coming out next week. Coming into the match, BSU was ranked eighth in the region, while UIU was ranked tenth. The Beavers will play another conference match at home tomorrow against a tough Winona State squad.

All year long the Peacock offense has found the scoreboard early in the match and again, the offense came to play early – especially the midfielders. Ptasinski scored the lone goal of the match and tied a season-high with five shots, while also recording a season-high four shots on goal.

Rohrmeier also played well in the middle, adding two shots and her second assist of the year. As a team, the Peacocks had 13 shots, seven of which were on goal.

BSU made a push late in the second period offensively, but UIU held strong. UIU goalkeeper Amanda Smith posted her third shutout in a row and collected five saves in the match. Smith held the Beavers scoreless despite 17 total shots from BSU.

UIU will look for another strong performance on the road tomorrow as they head to the University of Minnesota, Crookston to face the Golden Eagles. UMC enters Sunday’s matchup against the Peacocks with a 2-10-1 record, including a 2-7-1 mark in the NSIC. The Golden Eagles took Winona State to overtime on Saturday, but lost in the 96th minute to the Warriors, 2-1. As a team, UMC has been outscored 23-8 this year.