Box Score  
Box Score

Everything came to a crashing halt for the Upper Iowa women’s soccer team on Friday as momentum slipped away with less than 15 minutes left in the Semi-Finals of the NSIC/ US Bank Women’s Soccer Tournament. UIU tied the match late, but the Warriors responded almost immediately to steal the 2-1 victory in Mankato, Minnesota.

UIU had all the momentum in the 75^th minute of action as the Peacocks tied the match 1-1 and it looked as if the game was headed for overtime. UIU was robbed only moments after they were rewarded.

Junior defender Kelsey Taldone netted the game-tying goal off a header to give UIU the momentum. But just 14 seconds later, the Warriors answered with the go-ahead score and the eventual game-winner from Caitlin Lilly.

All the Peacock momentum was swept away with that score and UIU was not able to recover. The Peacocks fall to 15-3-2 this season after the loss and fail to advance to the conference championship for the second straight season.

As of Wednesday, the Peacocks still manned the No. 6 seed in the region. If that still holds after this weekend, UIU would be looking at a NCAA Tournament berth. Those rankings will be released on Saturday.

Coming into the match, UIU was riding a seven-match win streak and the Peacock defense was tied for the number one spot in the conference with the regular-season champions of Minnesota State. UIU continued its strong play in the opening minutes of its match with the Warriors.

The Peacocks outshot WSU 9-4 in the first 34 minutes, before the Warriors stormed back to earn six shots in the final seven minutes. Both teams had 10 shots at halftime, but neither team scratched the scoreboard.

Less than four minutes into the second half, the Warriors drew first blood.

Hadley Bales connected on a cross inside the Peacocks 18-yard box. Peacock goalkeeper Amanda Smith made a diving attempt to knock the ball down, but missed it by inches. The ball ricocheted off two players before finding the back of the net, giving WSU a 1-0 lead.

UIU responded in the 75^th minute of action after Trina Gallagher earned a corner kick for UIU. Kali Loescher got under the ball and sent the cross into a crowd of Peacocks and Warriors. After bouncing around, Taldone separated herself from the posse and sent the header to the back of the net to tie the match at 1-1. It was the second goal of the season for the Crystal Lake, Illinois native and the tie looked to be enough for UIU to send the match to overtime.

Not so.

The Warriors responded almost immediately as the UIU defense was sucked up on a breakaway in the midfield by the Warriors Rebecca McCoy. WSU had the rest of its offense inside the penalty box creating an easy header for Lilly to help the Warriors reclaim the lead, 2-1.

UIU had a couple last-chance looks at the goal, but could not tie the match. With the 2-1 victory, WSU advances to the NSIC/ US Bank Women’s Soccer Tournament Championship and will play the winner of Minot State and Minnesota State on Sunday.

All the Peacocks can do now is sit and wait patiently for the NCAA brackets to be released and hope their name is on one.