THE SCHEDULE…

LIVE STATS || VIDEO WEBCAST

THURSDAY - 12:30 p.m. || SOUTHWEST BAPTIST vs. ST. CLOUD STATE
THURSDAY - 3 p.m. || MARYVILLE vs. UPPER IOWA

FRIDAY - 12:30 p.m. || MARYVILLE vs. ST. CLOUD STATE
FRIDAY - 3 p.m. || SOUTHWEST BAPTIST vs. UPPER IOWA

THE SERIES… Last year's matchup between the Saints of Maryville University and the Upper Iowa Peacocks was their first since UIU moved up to Division II before the 2006 season. The Peacocks hold the edge in the series, 1-0 after Kelsey Taldone drilled a free kick from 22-yards out in the second half of last year's matchup in the 2012 Peacock Soccer Classic.

The Peacocks also hold a 1-0 edge in their series with the Bearcats of Southwest Baptist University. Amanda Rohrmeier and Kali Loescher gave UIU a 2-1 victory as both netted goals against the Bearcat defense in last year's matchup.

THE MATCHUP… The Saints started the 2012 season strong with a 3-2 overtime victory over Concordia, St. Paul, yet fell to UIU the next day. Things never picked up for MU later that year as the Saints finished with a 4-10-4 record and a 3-8-4 mark in GLVC play. MU returns their starting goalkeeper from last season Mandy Browning along with four other seniors. Eric Delabar enters his 15th season at the helm of the Saints women's soccer program. He is assisted by Joel Roschnafsky and newly acquired Lori Chalupny.

The Bearcats, who were picked 6th in the MIAA Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll, return three All-MIAA selections from last year in midfielder Ashley Creason, forward Karla Jamison, and defender Camala James. SBU finished 7-9-3 last year and made the MIAA Tournament but was knocked out in the first round by Central Missouri after a 3-1 shootout. Head Coach Rob Podeyn enters his fifth season. He is assisted by Terry Stewart. SBU will take on St. Cloud State – the fourth and final team participating in the Peacock Soccer Classic – on Thursday, a day before facing UIU.

NEW LOOK TO THE PEACOCK PROGRAM… Brian Diaz takes the helm atop the women's soccer program after spending the past five seasons as the top assistant at the University of South Alabama - an NCAA Division I member of the Sun Belt Conference. While with the Jaguars, Diaz helped the team earn their third-highest winning percentage in school history in 2011.

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 was a shutout-machine last year 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 registered a league-leading 14 shutouts while earning 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.

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. In three preseason games, Aimee Wronski has a total of three goals, with two of them coming against Coe and bumped her total to three scores this preseason. UIU also adds seven freshmen to the mix in 2013 including, Katie Dierks, Maddison Swanson, Storm Walsh, Lauren Sharp, Maggie Olson, Mackenzie Taldone and Brianne Fenton. In preseason play, Fenton and Dierks both scored a goal each, while Taldone, Sharp and Olson each added an assist.

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.

LEADING LADY… Sophomore forward Kali Loescher has been explosive offensively for the Peacocks in the 2013 preseason. In three exhibition games, Loescher netted two goals, which was second on the team, and earned a team-high four assists. Loescher finished last year with seven scores and three assists.

DON'T FORGET… If you can't catch all the action from the 2013 Peacock Soccer Classic 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!