The Peacock women's soccer team earned its second consecutive weekend sweep of the season on Sunday afternoon in Sioux Falls, S.D. Upper Iowa extended its winning streak to five after a 2-1 victory over the Sioux Falls Cougars. Early offense provided the spark, and solid defense prevailed UIU to a victory. With the win, Upper Iowa improves to 7-4 overall (6-3 NSIC), while the loss drops the Cougars to 2-8-2 overall and 2-6-1 in league play. The Peacocks have now won all five matchups with Sioux Falls, outscoring USF 22-2.

It was the visiting Peacocks who controlled the first half. UIU held the advantage in shots (9-4) and corners (2-1), and found a way to score very early. In the 13th minute, Lauren Sharp sent a pass to teammate Maggie Olson, who sent it past USF goalkeeper Morgan Perkins for her first second of the season. Sharp, who scored her first goal of the year in Friday's win over Southwest Minnesota State, picked up her first assist of the season. The Kansas City, Mo. native becomes the fifth Peacock to record an assist on the year. Olson's shot was the second attempt of the game for UIU, and they were just getting started.

In the 27th minute, Charlotte Ryan took a shot attempt that was saved by Perkins, but deflected off the goalie. Ryan got it back and fed the ball to freshman Birgit Rijnders, who scored her team-leading third goal of the season. The score put the Peacocks up 2-0 and it would be very difficult for Sioux Falls to recover.

In an effort to make a comeback in the second half, the Cougars controlled the ball, holding a 10-2 advantage in shots. The only shot that was placed on goal in the final frame happened to be a goal in the 69th minute. Lauren LaFavre sent a pass to Lola Weiss, who had a look at the goal. Weiss's shot was mishandled by Peacock goalkeeper Caila Petrie, and found the net for the score. USF cut its deficit in half, and was looking for the equalizer. They never found it.

The home team took six shots in the final 20 minutes of play, but the Upper Iowa backline held strong to preserve the victory. The hard-fought 2-1 win pushes UIU into fifth place in the Northern Sun Conference, and just one game back of second place.

For the match, Sioux Falls held the advantage in shots (14-11), but it was the Peacocks who led in shots on goal (6-2) and corners (4-3). Petrie recorded just one save, but improved to 7-4 in net for UIU. Perkins drops to 2-8-2 in goal for USF after a four-save afternoon.

Up next for the Peacocks is the longest road trip of the season. Upper Iowa will head to Bismarck, N.D. on Saturday afternoon to take on the University of Mary Marauders at 1 p.m. and then will head up to Minot, N.D. to take on the No. 13 Minot State Beavers on Sunday afternoon. Kickoff in Minot is also scheduled for 1 p.m.