The Peacocks scored four goals in a ten minute stretch to end the first half and Johnny McBeth had a hat trick as UIU defeated Southwest Baptist, 5-1.

Upper Iowa controlled the game in the first half, but struggled early to find the last touch needed to get a good shot on goal. When the Peacocks finally got on the board in the 34th minute, the flood gates opened.

Ryan Pinkerton put the Peacocks ahead when he took a pass wide to the left from Rafael Pedroso, dribbled it in toward the corner of the box and ripped a shot that beat the Bearcat goalkeeper, Lajos Zadravecz, to the near post. It was Pinkerton's second goal of the season.

The next two UIU goals came from freshman Johnny McBeth. To put the Peacocks up 2-0, McBeth came flying through the midfield and took a touch pass from Greg Marshall. McBeth ended up in a one-on-one with the Zadravecz, dribbled around him and put the ball into the net. It was McBeth's first career goal as a Peacock. Just four minutes later, McBeth found himself wide open 25-yards from goal and ripped a shot. The goalkeeper deflected the ball into the air, but couldn't stop its momentum as it fell into the net to make it 3-0, Peacocks.

Another two minutes went by and UIU found itself with another scoring opportunity. Rhys Williams took a corner kick that flew to the far post, finding the foot of Troy Ewers. His shot floated over the attacking goalkeeper and dropped the net to close the first half scoring at 4-0.

Head Coach Jason Carlson was excited to see him team finally come out and really own the first half of a game. "Getting on the board in the first half, when we had been struggling to score, was good," said Carlson. "They weren't always the prettiest of goals, but at the end of the day, it doesn't matter."

The second half was more of the same as the Peacocks attack continued. Just two minutes into the second half, McBeth took the ball into the box, where he was fouled by the Bearcat goalkeeper. For the foul, Zadravecz was shown a red card and the Peacocks were given a penalty kick. Williams took the shot, but new goalkeeper Alan Shriner made the diving save to his left.

Fifteen minutes into the half, the Peacocks made a change in goal, replacing Connor Rortvedt with fellow freshman goalkeeper Kyran Johnson. It was Johnson's first minutes in net this year. Rortvedt finished the game with 60 minutes played and one save.

The Bearcats finally solved the UIU defense in the 68th minute, when senior midfielder Justin Schaeffer took a laser of a shot from about 25 yards and scored over a diving Johnson.

Just 46 seconds later, the Peacocks again made it a four goal game, as McBeth scored for a third time. Pedroso sent a cross into the box from the right corner that was flicked on with a header by forward Jared Newman. The ball was controlled by McBeth and put into the net from six yards away.

"What a day [for McBeth] to come out and get them all at once. It was awesome," said Carlson. "And to be honest, we aren't surprised. Johnny's been training so well and he came in very fit. He's been getting so close in so many games, it was great for him to finally break that mold a bit and the guys were really excited for him."

The Peacocks dominated the stat sheet, outshooting the Bearcats 25-5, winning the corner kick statistic 8-1 and put 11 shots on goal compared to the just 2 for SBU.

But Carlson wasn't quick to dismiss the Bearcats despite the four goal win.

"Southwest Baptist graduated some really good players last year so I know they have a lot of young guys in there. That makes it tough sometimes," said Carlson. "We were that young team just a few years ago, struggling, and look where we're at now. But they have some young, hardworking guys, so they're going to get there."

Up next, the Peacocks will take on No. 15 Northeastern State on Saturday at Pattison Field in Fayette at Noon.