Box Score NSIC/US Bank Women's Soccer Tournament Bracket ||
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Records
Upper Iowa (14-4, 12-3 NSIC) || Concordia (5-13, 4-11 NSIC)
Recap
With a bad taste in their mouth, the Upper Iowa Women's Soccer team didn't let Friday's disappointing loss affect them for very long on Sunday. The Peacocks jumped on the Golden Bears of Concordia University St. Paul early and often taking a three-goal lead at halftime en route to a 4-0 victory at home. The win gives the Peacocks a 14-4 overall record and a 12-3 mark in NSIC play, which is good for an opening round playoff game at home.
With the regular season wrapping up this weekend, the Peacocks finished tied for third in the conference and will enter the NSIC/US Bank Women's Soccer Tournament as the fourth seed after the tie-breaker. The fourth seed is guaranteed a home playoff game and UIU will host the fifth-ranked Mustangs of Southwest Minnesota State, who finished with a 14-2-2 overall record and a 11-2-2 mark in NSIC play. That game is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon at 1 p.m.
Going into the game, the Peacocks understood the importance of Sunday's match. That showed early on as the team came out on fire.
Kelsey Taldone got things going as she found Upper Iowa's leading scorer
Aimee Wronski, who netted her 15th goal of the season in the 11th minute. Her shot came from a staggering 26-yards out and pinged off the crossbar before trailing into the net.
Less than three minutes later,
Madie Edwards made it a two-score game with her ninth goal of the season. Her unassisted score was a thing of beauty. She controlled the ball just past midfield, sprinted towards the net while juking two Golden Bear defenders before firing the ball to the back right post from 8 yards out with her left foot.
Before the first half came to a close, the Peacocks added another score. This time it was
Kali Loescher, who connected on a ball from
Brianne Fenton just outside the keeper box on the right side and found the back of the net for her fifth score of the season.
The Peacocks took that 3-0 lead into the break, but scratched the scoreboard one final time on Sunday.
In the 57th minute of the second half, Edwards struck again. Fenton was again awarded an assist as she sent the go-ahead lob pass to Edwards who scored from 14-yards out. The score gave the Peacocks a commanding lead and the Golden Bears struggled to respond.
The Peacock defense was also dominant from the start. UIU faced just 12 Golden Bear shots, but held CU scoreless.
Amanda Smith started the game in goal and earned her third win of the season and her second shutout.
Briel Kohl also saw time in the cage and ensured the shutout as CU threatened to score late in the game.
Stat of the Game
With Edwards' two goals on Sunday, the Peacocks now have two players with 10 or more goals on the same team for the first time since joining the Northern Sun Conference before the 2006 season.
Sounding Off
Head Coach Brian Diaz After the Game…
On the Win… "It was a good response and performance from our team. We've done that all year – we've responded well to adversity. It was great to see our players come out and dominate from the get-go. Besides the effectiveness of our offense today though, I thought our defense was outstanding.
Brooke Skaggs played an excellent game as a center back."
On Having Two Double-Digit Goal Scorers This Year… "Obviously, there are no secrets about
Aimee Wronski and what she does – she's a dynamic forward for us and she finds the back of the net on a consistent basis. At about the halfway mark of this season,
Madie Edwards really stepped up her game and has become the player that we all knew she could be. That's credit to her for putting in the effort and pushing through adversity. She means a lot to this team."
On Wednesday's Home Playoff Game… "Our goals lay far beyond just making the tournament, but it's obviously a great accomplishment and I am proud of this team. You have to make the playoffs to win the championship, so that's always the first goal for any team. We've put ourselves in a good position with a win and we will be hosting a first-round playoff game. That's obviously a big deal – it's much harder with this quick turnaround to go on the road and play in a hostile environment, so we're excited for this opportunity."
Up Next
The Peacocks will host the fifth-ranked Mustangs of Southwest Minnesota State on Wednesday at 1 p.m. in the opening round of the NSIC/US Bank Women's Soccer Tournament.
