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The Upper Iowa women’s soccer team has started a trend over the past three seasons. After a 1-0 victory over Bemidji State at home in the opening round of the 2012 NSIC/ US Bank Women’s Soccer Tournament on Wedneday, the Peacocks will not only make their second consecutive semi-finals match in two years, but they will also get their third shot at Winona State in as many postseasons.

“You can pretty much count on a game against Winona at the end of the year,” head coach Brian Bahl said. “We’ve been closing the gap on them in recent years, but we’ll have to play a lot better than we did today if we want to win.”

Although Bahl still sees room for improvement, the Peacocks were hitting all cylinders on offense and defense in the first half.

Redshirt sophomore forward Corinne Wronski fought hard to gain position inside the Beavers’ penalty box, while senior midfielder Valeria Ptasinski controlled the ball around defenders on the outside. Ptasinski knocked the cross inside and Wronski was there to clean it up after a couple of deflections off of Beaver defenders.

It was only the second goal all season for the Huntley Illinois native, but it showed how determined the Peacocks were to get a lead in the match.

“I was pleased about how we came out,” Bahl said. “We were creating chances early on by just driving it at them. Cori didn’t quit and that’s how a lot of goals are scored – just keep crashing and working hard for it.”

For Ptasinski, there is just something about playing BSU that gets her fired up. She had the game-winning goal over the Beavers back on October 13th in Bemidji and on Wednesday she earned her fifth assist of the season with her pass to Wronski.

As for the defense, well, they completely shut down the Beavers offense in the first half by not allowing a single shot.
UIU took a 1-0 lead into halftime thanks to that defensive effort, but BSU created a couple golden opportunities in the second half.

Thirty seconds into the final period, Megan Castro took her team’s first shot of the match, but it was wide right. Shots came more freely for the Beavers in that second period, but Peacock goalkeeper Amanda Smith held tough.

“I thought she played one of her better games,” Bahl said of Smith. “She took a couple really hard shots, but was able to bounce back up from them and do her thing.”

Smith collided with Emily Olson in the first half and stayed down on the pitch for a couple minutes before ultimately staying in the game. Later in the second half, she again hit the turf again, but not before making a victory-sealing save.

In the 86th minute, Mary O’Brien took a shot for BSU that hit the crossbar. Smith jumped up but the ball was out of her reach and she lost her balance and hit the ground. The ball bounced right to Castro who headed the ball towards the back of the net, but Smith somehow rose from the ground and made a finger-tip save. That was her third and final save of the match.

Thanks to inspired play from their keeper, the defense made sure their lead was intact as the final minutes ticked down. With the 1-0 victory, UIU earned its 14th shutout this season and its second consecutive berth in the NSIC semifinals match. The Peacocks also improved on their school-record 15-2-2 overall record.

“It’s big,” Bahl said about the win. “It gives us a chance to get back to where we were a year ago. We got up there and played a great game in the semifinal game but came up short in penalty kicks.”

Last season, UIU’s season ended in a loss to St. Cloud State at a neutral location. This year, UIU has another shot at revenge, but against a different opponent.

The Peacocks will travel north  to Mankato, Minnesota on Friday to face a very good Winona State team. UIU has played the Warriors in each of the past two postseasons, knocking them out of the tournament in a 1-0 upset victory last year.

“It’s nice to play Winona State again after they beat us earlier this year,” Bahl said. “I know it will be a battle.”

The No. 2 seeded Warriors defeated the No. 7 seeded St. Cloud State Huskies 3-0 at home on Wednesday. Friday’s match between Winona State and the Peacocks will begin at 11 a.m. in Mankato, Minnesota. Click here to follow the live stats of the match. Or click here to listen to the match live online.

UIU not only hopes to continue its postseason trend, but they hope to improve upon it and make the tournament championship game on Sunday.