Box Score Recap

The Peacocks gave up an early goal and a late goal in a 2-1 loss to Simpson College at Pattison Field.

The Storm made the most of a Peacock mistake and scored just 3 minutes and 42 seconds into the game. Junior midfielder Marcus Varnum stepped in front of a pass from Peacock goalkeeper Connor Rortvedt and dribbled the ball into the box, where he put a shot past a charging Rortvedt and gave the Storm the early 1-0 lead.

The remainder of the first half was a flurry of chances by a plethora Peacocks, but the ball never found the back of the net. The Peacock shots seemed to slide just wide of the net, sail just a bit high or find the hands of Simpson goalkeeper Zach McEntee. UIU finished the first half having outshot the Storm 12 to 3, with 4 on goal compared to just 1 for the Storm.

Upper Iowa started the second half the same way the first ended, pouring on the pressure and taking plenty of shots. The Peacocks finally got on the board 15 minutes into the half when junior forward Aaron Calkins buried his own rebound to tie the game, 1-1.

The game appeared set for overtime until the Storm turned a Peacock offensive mistake into a counter attack. The ball went from deep in the Peacock's offensive end to the Storm offensive end in a matter of seconds and Upper Iowa wasn't able to get enough players back on defense. Varnum ended up with the ball just inside the penalty box, where he was able to rip a shot to the near post, beating Rortvedt and giving the Storm a 2-1 lead with four minutes left.

The Peacocks had one last chance, as the Simpson was called for a foul with 30 seconds left just outside the Simpson penalty box. Junior Rhys Williams put a shot on goal, but the Simpson goalkeeper deflected the ball just wide. Leandro Pena took the ensuing corner kick, but the ball never found a Peacock foot and the horn sounded as the clock hit zeros.

Upper Iowa finished the game with 20 shots compared to 8 for Simpson. Pena and Ryan Pinkerton lead the Peacocks with four shots a piece, while Greg Marshall and Johnny McBeth had three each.

According to Head Coach Jason Carlson…

"I thought it was a good game and we played fairly well. Our ball movement was encouraging for us moving forward. Looking at the stat sheet, when we get that many shots, I would hope to have more quality chances."

"I really have to credit Simpson. They made it difficult for us to score and took advantage of our mistakes. They played a sound game today."

"The guys who came off the bench for us made a positive impact today. We showed our depth in the quality play of those guys."

"Some of the guys left the field today hanging their heads, but we're a resilient group of guys. They'll have their heads up at training tomorrow and I'm confident we can bounce back."

Up Next…

The Peacocks have a home match against Waldorf College Saturday, Sept. 13 at 1 p.m.