THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK WOMEN'S SOCCER... The Upper Iowa women's soccer team will hit the road for the quarterfinals of the 2016 NSIC Tournament on Wednesday evening. The Peacocks will travel to Minot, N.D. to face the top seeded Beavers of Minot State University at 5 p.m. This season marks the fourth time in five years that UIU had made the conference tournament, with the Peacocks advancing to the semifinals in each of the previous three trips. The Peacocks are 5-2 all-time against the Beavers, who are ranked 11th in the coaches' poll, after dropping to MSU 3-0 on Oct. 16. UIU has won the only post-season match between the schools, winning a 1-0 game at Pattison Field in November of 2014.
PEACOCKS SWEPT, STILL MAKE POST-SEASON... Upper Iowa started last weekend in fifth place in the Northern Sun Conference standings, but dropped a pair of matchups to close out the regular season. The Peacocks were beaten by the Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears in the highest scoring match of the season, 3-2 on Friday in Fayette. UIU then lost a 2-0 match in Mankato, Minn. against the Minnesota State Mavericks. Despite the two-match losing streak to end the year, the Peacocks remained in eighth place in league, and earned the final seed in the post-season bracket.
NSIC TOURNAMENT BREAKDOWN... The 2016 NSIC Women's Soccer Tournament pairings have been determined following the conclusion of the NSIC regular season schedule. The top eight teams from the NSIC soccer standings advance to the single-elimination tournament. The top four seeds host first round games on Wednesday, November 2 with the winners advancing to the semifinal and championship round on Friday, November 4 and Sunday, November 6 in a bracketed format. There will be no reseeding following the first round games. The highest remaining seed following the quarterfinals will host the semifinals and championship games. The winner of the 2016 NSIC Women's Soccer Tournament earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Central Region Tournament. The complete NCAA championship bracket will be announced on Monday, November 7 via a webcast selection show on
www.NCAA.com at 5 p.m. (CT). The regional tournament will begin November 11 on regional campuses.
PEACOCKS' TOURNAMENT HISTORY... Upper Iowa is 3-3 all-time in the NSIC tournament, and are unbeaten in the quarterfinal round. The Peacocks have won all three first-round matches by identical 1-0 scores. UIU defeated Bemidji State, Southwest Minnesota State, and Minot State all at Pattison Field in Fayette. UIU will travel for the first time in the quarterfinal round in 2016.
ABOUT #11 MINOT STATE... The Beavers earned their first regular season championship and will take the top seed into the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament. MSU finished league play undefeated, going 14-0-1 overall, and are on a current four-match winning streak. Ninfa Ramirez leads all Beavers with 18 goals on the season.
