Box Score
Records
Upper Iowa (1-1) || NIACC (1-3)
Recap
For
Dan Rasmussen and
Jason Bishop of the Upper Iowa Men's Soccer team, there's just something about playing NIACC that gets them pumped up and ready to score. For the second year in a row, Bishop and Rasmussen both netted goals against the Trojans on Pattison Field as UIU coasted to a 5-1 victory in their home opener.
After sophomore
Aaron Calkins netted the Peacocks only first-half goal, Head Coach
Jason Carlson called upon Bishop and Rasmussen in the second half of Wednesday night's non-conference matchup with the Trojans, and the move worked out brilliantly.
After being inserted in the 54th minute of the game, Bishop helped break a 1-1 tie as he nailed his first goal of the new season.
Ryan Pinkerton started the action with a break-away run, juking and dodging defenders before passing to Bishop on the opposite side of the field. Bishop –who scored two goals against NIACC last year – simply controlled the pass and drilled the ball to the back of the net without hesitation. The goal gave the Peacocks a 2-1 lead with 18 minutes to play in the game.
Seven minutes later, Rasmussen – who also scored a goal against the Trojans last year – was called upon to give the Peacock offense another spark after a few minutes of stagnant play. Another good decision by Carlson.
Rasmussen ignited the offense with back-to-back goals, his first and second of the season, as UIU jumped out to a 4-1 lead in a matter of minutes. Rasmussen connected on his first goal just 51 seconds after stepping onto the field, and then added another 25 seconds later. Pinkerton was credited with the assist on the first, while
Rafael Pedroso picked up an assist on the second.
The Peacocks'
Henrique Cunha added one final goal on a header in the 85th minute to seal the 5-1 victory for UIU.
Stat of the Day
The five goals for UIU marked the first time the Peacocks had scored more than three since defeating Cornell College, 5-0, on September 10, 2011.
Standouts
Upper Iowa: Dan Rasmussen (2 goals), Jason Bishop (1 goal), Aaron Calkins (1 goal), Henrique Cunha (1 goal), Ryan Pinkerton (2 assists), Samuel Vivas (1 assist), Marcelo Botelho (1 assist).
NIACC: Tim Roberts (1 goal).
Sounding Off
Head Coach Jason Carlson after the match.
On the Home-Opener Victory … "It's always good to get a win in your home opener. It took us a while – it was definitely a team effort – but it was good for the guys. We've been talking about adversity all preseason and how to deal with it. When you're in a game and you're constantly attacking and not scoring, it's easy to get flustered and give up. Instead of changing the game plan, they stuck with it today."
On Dan Rasmussen and Jason Bishop … "Dan and Jason made an immediate impact today. That was great to see and encouraging for them, I'm sure. We wanted to play a lot of players today. That's something we wanted to take advantage of. Any level of experience before we start conference is just preparatory for MIAA games."
On Halftime Adjustments… "We just talked about staying with the game plan and not getting away from it. I wanted the guys to just trust themselves – if you're better than a guy, then take them on. Don't worry about mistakes in the final third – stay consistent, crash a goal. I don't care if it's ugly, let's just get one in."
On Scoring Five Goals… "Any time you score five goals, it's encouraging. Hopefully that's a trend that continues. I think the guys really like the new style that we're going with and they're on board with it. As long as they continue to buy-in, we can be successful. Whether it was a goal after we crashed the net, or whether it's creating a PK, it's just about getting in there and being dangerous."
Friday's Match vs. Mount Mercy at Home… "We've got a really tough match coming up with Mount Mercy. That's what we told the team after the game, 'Enjoy this win, but understand what's right around the corner.' Today was a good team effort"
Next Up
The team will host the Mount Mercy Mustangs on Friday at 2 p.m. on Pattison Field.
