Box Score Records
Upper Iowa (0-1) || Truman State (2-0)
Recap
It's almost a guarantee for every team beginning their season that mistakes are bound to show their ugly face. That theory held true in Upper Iowa's season-opener on Sunday afternoon in Kirksville, Missouri. Facing an experienced and well-rounded Truman State squad, those mistakes haunted the Peacocks as UIU lost, 4-1, in non-conference play.
In a very competitive first half, a costly mistake was the only thing that separated a scoreless game at halftime and a 1-0 ball game. The Bulldogs' Chris Mansfield connected with a ball and sent it towards Peacock goalkeeper
Jordan Bell, but the ball went through his hands and into the net. Mansfield's goal was the only score at halftime, but the Bulldogs were relentless in the second period and UIU could not keep up.
First it was Zach Hollstrom who found the back of the net to give TSU a 2-0 lead. Then it was Austin Hayden and finally it was Nick Tolmais who pushed the Bulldogs out in front by a score of 4-0 with 10 minutes to play.
Sophomore midfielder
Rhys Williams finally got the Peacocks on the scoreboard in the 84th minute on a penalty-kick goal, but it was too little, too late.
Despite only out-shooting the Peacocks, 17-13 and 8-6 on shots on goal, the Bulldogs walked away with a 4-1 victory on Bulldog Pitch.
Stat of the Day
Upper Iowa had six corner kicks compared to just three for Truman State.
Standouts
Upper Iowa: Rhys Williams (1 goal)
Truman State: Tolmais, Nick (1 goal, 1 assist), Hayden, Austin (1 goal), Hollstrom, Zach (1 goal), Mansfield, Chris (1 goal).
Sounding Off
Head Coach Jason Carlson after the match.
On the Team's Depth … "We still have a young team, so you predict them to start the season off with some nervous play. The good part was that we played 17 or 18 guys, so we earned some valuable playing experience for the team."
On the Outcome... "I really think this was a closer game than the score suggests. The shots on goal were six to eight, shots in general were 13 to 17 and we did pretty well when it came to corner kicks and possessions. Overall, it was a learning experience for our squad – that's why we have non-conference games before we begin our conference schedule. This was a good team to match up against."
On Finishing Opportunities… "Both teams hit the cross bar a couple times, but I don't think we failed to finish. We just made some unfortunate mistakes which led to some of their goals. An individual mistake here and there and we're down by a goal or two."
On Injuries… "We were playing without our starting center back so we were pretty thin on the back line. But to be honest, we did a pretty good job of keeping them in front of us. They just capitalized on some silly mistakes on our part and it made the game look a lot worse than it was."
Who Played Well… "
Hugo Alves was our starting left back and he did a good job for us. He really moved the ball well and contributed to our attack. I thought
Ryan Pinkerton did a good job coming off the bench. Him and
Aaron Calkins played really well together – we saw a lot of positives from those two when we were down, 3-1. That's when started changing things and pushing numbers – we got to see how dangerous Ryan can be when he has a good supporting cast around him. Finally, when
Rhys Williams is on and he's working, I think everyone is a little bit better. He really controlled the middle of the field for us today and that was good to see."
On Team Leadership… "Any time you get into a tight spot, you're looking toward those older guys to step up and help the team. By no means was this loss a huge bump in the road – I expected us to make some mistakes, but now we understand how important it is to minimize those mistakes in the future."
On Wednesday's Matchup with NIACC… "This will be a good test for the guys to see how we respond. We had a similar circumstance going into the Coe game in the preseason, so we're hoping for a good performance. I believe we have a resilient group of guys and it's still early in the season."
Next Up
The team will host North Iowa Area CC in their home-opener this Wednesday in Fayette. Game time is set for 5 p.m. on Pattison Field.
