The Upper Iowa men's soccer team ended their season with a loss to the Fort Hays State Tigers, 4-2, in the NCAA Central Region Championship in Kansas City, Missouri, on Friday evening.
 
UIU surrendered an own goal in the fifth minute of the game, but responded with a goal less than five minutes later. Ryan Pinkerton got his head on a cross from Rhys Williams that beat the FHSU goalkeeper and tied the game at 1-1. Fort Hays State rallied with a goal to take a 2-1 lead 16 minutes into the match, then added a goal right before halftime to take a 3-1 lead.
 
A Tigers goal in the 71st minute made it 4-1. The Peacocks, who outshot Fort Hays 12-7 in the final 45 minutes, rallied for a goal with nine minutes left. Seniors Sebastian Smith and Jared Newman used a give-and-go to set up Smith for a laser which he placed in the upper left hand corner of the net to make it 4-2.
 
Despite the loss, the Peacocks wrapped up the best season in school history with their first trip to the NCAA Tournament.
 
"We can't talk about the seniors and the level of commitment that they have had," said Head Coach Jason Carlson. "From only winning four games three years to where they are at now is a credit to them and their dedication. Hopefully the younger guys can learn from that. It was great to see the guys set goals and achieve them, and to see their goals get higher and higher over the last three years. I think this season was the icing on the cake for the guys. I'm just so proud of them and really happy for the guys. They can take some great memories from the season. Obviously, having everyone on board, Miguel Silva and Christoffer Lobberecht, made everything possible."
 
Upper Iowa finishes the year 13-4-1, setting a new school-record for wins in a season. The Peacocks also picked up their first MIAA Championship and first men's soccer conference title in school history. UIU found itself in the national rankings for the majority of the year, reaching as high as #12 on Sept. 29 and finished the year at #19. Upper Iowa set program records with nine players named to All-MIAA teams and five All-MIAA First Team selections. Carlson became the first UIU men's soccer coach to earn MIAA Coach of the Year honors and Blair Lyons was the first Peacock to win MIAA Freshman of the Year.
 
"Man, what an awesome year and I'm so proud of the guys and the coaches," said Carlson. "I felt like we represented the institution and the athletic department well. Hopefully we've set a standard for years to come to build off of."