Box Score Upper Iowa scored early, then had to hold off a frantic Waldorf attack for the 1-0 victory at Pattison Field.

The Peacocks came out by controlling the ball and applied some early pressure. Twenty minutes into the opening half, freshman Johnny McBeth took the ball into the Warrior's penalty box and where he was fouled, giving the Peacocks a penalty kick. Junior Rhys Williams placed the shot to the right, the keeper dove left, and the Peacocks took an early 1-0 lead.

The next 25 minutes were more of the same for the Peacocks. Upper Iowa outshot the Waldorf, 9 to 2 in the first half, but was unable to put another ball into the back of the net.

Head Coach Jason Carlson was happy with the attack, but is looking for more results. "Offensively, we continue to create some pretty good chances, but we just have to put some in the back of the net," said Carlson.

The Warriors came out in the second half with renewed energy and a different gameplan: attack, attack, attack.

The intensity in the second half continued to build as the clock ticked away. The Peacocks did their best to control the ball, but the Warrior pressure was unrelenting. However, the aggressive nature of the Warrior's attack left their defense thin and gave the Peacocks several good opportunities. Nevertheless, neither team could muster a goal. The last few moments made for some tense times on the Peacock bench, but in the end the Upper Iowa defense stood tall.

"I felt Waldorf worked really hard and credit to them," said Carlson. "I thought compared to years past, this is a more organized and disciplined team that we played today."

UIU finished the game with 15 shots and placed 7 of those on frame. Greg Marshall and Leandro Pena led the Peacocks with three shots each. Connor Rortvedt made four saves for the clean sheet, his second shutout of the year.

Overall, Carlson was happy with the performance of his Peacocks today.

"Our guys are sticking to how we want to play and looking to find each other when we can and expose balls over the top when it's on," said Carlson. "The guys are really starting to get there and it's starting to click. They are continuing to buy-in each day. It's great to see us control a game."

"We've always got a few things we want to be a little cleaner on, but we are excited to get into conference with the round-robin style schedule. It will be a heck of a year."

The Peacocks open the conference schedule next with a home match against MIAA opponent Southwest Baptist on Thursday, Sept. 18 at 2 p.m.