The Peacocks had a one goal lead twice in the second half, but eventually fell to No. 15 Northeastern State in overtime, 3-2.

The RiverHawks scored five minutes into the overtime period when sophomore forward Jonathan Guzman found space 25-yards from goal and let a laser of a shot go that found the back of the net.

"Today was a tough one, especially when you take the lead twice," said Head Coach Jason Carlson. "You hope when you can put two in on a top team like that, you're playing well, you'd be able to close it out. But credit to them. There is a reason they are ranked 15^th in the country and are the top team in the region."

The first half started with a vicious Peacock attack. UIU recorded the game's first five shots and held the RiverHawks shotless for more than 20 minutes to start the game. However, neither side had a great scoring opportunity and the game went into halftime locked at 0-0.

The second half was déjà vu for Upper Iowa. The Peacocks ran out and logged four shots in the half's first three minutes. The buildup led to junior midfielder Leandro Pena ripping a shot from just outside the box, forcing a diving save from the RiverHawk goalkeeper Jackson Biles. The rebound bounced to freshman midfielder Johnny McBeth, who again forced Biles to make a save. The ball ended up on the foot sophomore forward Ryan Pinkerton, who put it away for his third goal this season, giving the Peacocks a 1-0 lead.

The lead didn't last long. Just 47 seconds later, Northeastern tied the game on a goal by junior Crosby Lee, who took a cross from the right and beat Peacock goalie Connor Rortvedt on the near post.

But the goal didn't slow the UIU attack. The Peacocks continued to be the aggressors and had several good opportunities to score. The pressure finally broke as an overlap between McBeth and Pinkerton led to McBeth scoring his fourth goal of the week and gave the Peacocks the 2-1 lead.

Again, the RiverHawks recovered from the Peacock goal with a frantic attack of their own. After earning a free kick 30 yards from goal, Northeastern took a shot that was blocked by the UIU wall, but bounce right to sophomore midfielder Chris Mendez, who scored on a shot from just inside the penalty box with 16 minutes left in the half.

Two minutes later, a brutal collision between Upper Iowa's Greg Marshall and Northeastern State's Hayden Rasmussen led to both players being given yellow cards. It was Marshall's second card of the day and he was sent off, forcing the Peacocks to play the remaining 14 minutes a man down.

The Peacocks survived the rest of the half, forcing overtime. In the extra period, the RiverHawks were the aggressors, and five minutes into overtime Northeastern State scored to win the game.

Upper Iowa won the statistical battle, outshooting the RiverHawks 18-10 and placing nine on goal compared to the seven for Northeastern State.

Although it wasn't the result he was looking for, Carlson was happy with his team's determination.

"I'm still really proud of the guys and their effort today," said Carlson. "It hurts when it's that close, but at some point these guys will able to look back on the day and assess how good we were able to play and how well we can play against a top team."