THE SCHEDULE…

No. 17 WINONA STATE vs. UPPER IOWA
FRIDAY || 4:30 p.m.
FAYETTE, IA || PATTISON FIELD
NORTHERN SUN CONFERENCE GAME
LIVE STATS || VIDEO WEBCAST

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THE SERIES… Including postseason play, Upper Iowa is just 1-13 against the Warriors of Winona State dating back to 2004. The Peacocks lone victory over WSU came in the opening round of the 2011 NSIC/ US Bank Women's Soccer Tournament. That year, UIU defeated the Warriors, who were the NSIC regular-season champions, 1-0 in Winona, Minnesota. Since then though, WSU has had the upper hand taking the past two meetings between the squads. When the teams met in the semifinals of the 2012 NSIC/ US Bank Women's Soccer Tournament last year, the Warriors ended the Peacocks season in heartbreaking fashion. Kelsey Taldone netted the lone goal for UIU, tying the game late, but WSU stormed back, adding the go-ahead goal to seal a 2-1 victory.

THE MATCHUP… WSU enters the 2013 season as the preseason favorite to win the Northern Sun Conference. WSU was picked by the league's coaches to finish first for the 11th time since 2000. WSU has also been picked to win the conference three out of the last four years. The Warriors have reached the postseason tournament nine years in a row and have five conference tournament titles under their belt. Furthermore, under head coach Ali Omar, the Warriors have had only one losing season in 17 years. This season, the Warriors own a disappointing 0-0-2 record after finishing scoreless in double overtime against Central Missouri and Truman State. Despite the ties, WSU moved up in the most recent NSCAA Division II Coaches' Poll this past week. The Warriors are now ranked 17th in the nation heading into Friday's matchup with UIU.

PEACOCKS UPSET NO. 23 CENTRAL OKLAHOMA … On a hot and sticky day in Fayette, the Peacocks held on to a one-goal lead for the final forty minutes of their matchup with No. 23 Central Oklahoma to steal a 2-1 victory at home. Both goals came off the foot of Junior Aimee Wronski, who now has four total goals for UIU this year – a team-high. Kali Loescher and Nicole Poirier both earned assists in that game. Wronski has taken 25 total shots this year, or 35-percent of the team's total shots (71).

SPLIT SISTERS… Head Coach Brian Diaz may have a difficult decision to make on Friday afternoon. Redshirt-junior Corinne Wronski suffered an injury against UCO this past Monday and may not be able to play in the conference opener. Meanwhile, her younger sister Aimee has been terrorizing defenses all year and Diaz hopes that continues well into the future. The Warriors, known for their stout defense, will be lucky if they have to only contend with one Wronski sister on Friday.

MILLARD MAXIMIZING HER OPPORTUNITY… Senior midfielder Amanda Millard has already scored as many goals this year as she did last year. In the first two games of the season, Millard scored twice on penalty kicks thanks to a much more aggressive offensive approach this season. Millard also had two goals last year scoring once against Minnesota Duluth and again against Concordia, St. Paul.

TAKING AIM… Sophomore forward Kali Loescher hasn't found the net yet in 2013, but her aim has been dead on. In the Peacocks' three games this year, Loescher has taken ten shots and has placed seven of those on goal. That's good for the team-high in shots-on-goal-percentage (.700). Loescher finished last year with seven scores and three assists.

SHOT TO THE HEART... The Peacocks have taken a total of 71 shots in just three games this year – that's just over 23 a game. That's a big change when you consider the team never took more than 27 shots in a single game last year and averaged just over 17 a game. As a unit, the Peacocks have out-shot their opponents 46 to 23 in the second half of matches this year.

PRESEASON POLL... The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference's 2013 Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll slotted Upper Iowa University to finish fourth this year with 172 points. Winona State University was picked by the league's coaches to finish first in the conference marking the 11th time since 2000 that WSU has been picked to win the league, including three of the last four years. The Warriors received 10 first place votes and tallied 215 points, ranking them just ahead of Minnesota State (213), who received five first place votes. Minot State also received a first place vote as they ranked third with 190 points. Minot State's Zoe Fisher was named the NSIC Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, while Upper Iowa's own Amanda Smith was named the NSIC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.

NSIC PRESEASON DEFENSIVE POY… Senior goalkeeper Amanda Smith has not seen the field in 2013 due to an injury, but that didn't stop her from earning NSIC Preseason Defensive Player of the Year in 2013. Last season, Smith was a shutout-machine en route to setting the school record for most shutouts in a single season (14). Smith started all 20 matches for the Peacocks in goal in 2012 and earned a total of 83 saves. She had an NSIC-best .902 save percentage and she finished the year with a season-high 10 saves in the semifinals of the NSIC/ US Bank Women's Soccer Tournament on November 2nd against Winona State. She collected a regular-season-high seven saves against Emporia State on September 9th and earned NSIC Defensive Player of the Week honors in the second to last week of conference play thanks to back-to-back shutouts against Wayne State and Augustana. Smith also earned All-NSIC First-Team honors for her work between the frame. She finished the season with a 15-3-2 record and led the Peacocks to their second consecutive semifinal appearance in the conference tournament. The Peacocks are waiting patiently for her return.

RETURNERS... The Peacocks return three of their six All-NSIC performers from last season including Smith, All-NSIC Third Team defender Kelsey Taldone and All-NSIC Honorable Mention Forward Kali Loescher. On offense, Loescher was named as an NSIC player to watch this season after recording a team-high seven goals and adding three assists in 20 matches as a sophomore. UIU will look to replace defenders Vicki Booth and Catherine Bunting as well as midfielders Valeria Ptasinski, Liz Kaluzinski and Alyssa Petersburg; all five of the 2012 graduates collected NSIC honors during their time in the Peacock blue and white. In all, the Peacocks return a total of ten players who played in at least 14 games last year.

UIU'S NEWCOMERS … Led by Illinois State transfer Aimee Wronski – who joins teammate and older sister Corinne Wronski – the newest Peacocks have been a welcomed addition to the team. UIU also added seven freshmen to the mix in 2013 including, Katie Dierks, Maddison Swanson, Storm Walsh, Lauren Sharp, Maggie Olson, Mackenzie Taldone and Brianne Fenton. Nearly all have seen action on the field already and a few play significant minutes.

COACHES' CORNER… In just his first year at Upper Iowa, Brian Diaz has molded the UIU program in an offensive threat. When compared to last season, the Peacocks are averaging more than six shots and almost a half goal more per match. Diaz earned his first victory as a head coach in his very first game this season and currently sits at 2-1.

RECORD SETTING SEASON (LOOKING BACK)... The Peacock women's soccer team collected new program-highs in total wins and NSIC wins this past fall with a 15-3-2 overall record and an 11-2-2 mark in the NSIC. UIU finished the season in third place in the conference and won their quarterfinal match in the US Bank/NSIC Women's Soccer Championship before losing a 2-1 decision to Winona State in the semifinals. The Peacocks were a constant in the NCAA regional rankings throughout the 2012 season, but came up just shy of their first regional berth in school history. The Peacock defense finished last year with a .903 save percentage – tops among all 234 NCAA Division II programs. The team also posted the most shutouts in the NSIC during the 2012 season with 14.

DON'T FORGET… If you can't catch all the action from Friday night's showdown with WSU in person, then follow along online with our live video and live stats links. Just click here: Live Stats, Video Webcast to follow all of the Peacock action live!