The Upper Iowa men's soccer team opened up their MIAA season with a decisive 2-0 victory over the Southwest Baptist Bearcats on Friday afternoon at Pattison Field. Head Coach Jason Carlson was not sure if UIU would be able to host the match because of field conditions, but the rain held off in Fayette, and the game was played. Despite it being hard to gain footing all afternoon, the Peacocks controlled the ball and pushed across a pair of goals, one in each half,  to put away their guests. With the win, the Peacocks improve to 3-4 on the year (1-0 MIAA) while the Bearcats drop to 0-8-1 (0-1 MIAA). Upper Iowa's victory also starts their first winning streak of the season, after the victory last week against  Southern Nazarene.

The physicality in the first half set the tone for the entire match, with multiple cards and fouls given to both sides. The Peacocks held a slight advantage in shots (6-4), but started to control the ball more as the half wore on. In the 32nd minute, after a yellow card was issued to the visitors, UIU forward Youssef Abougendia moved his way up the left side, and sent a perfect pass to Fausto Ordenana. The redshirt senior gained control of the ball, and send it up the middle into the back of the net for his first goal of the season. Southwest Baptist earned three more shots in the first frame, but the Peacock backline was excellent the entire afternoon, keeping the ball away from goalkeeper Connor Rortvedt. UIU took the 1-0 lead into the intermission, and would look to have continued success in the second half.

Upper Iowa was able to find that success. UIU again held the advantage in shots (10-7), and continued their solid play defensively. Rortvedt earned all of his saves, four, in the final 45 minutes, including a diving save late in the game. The Verona, Wisconsin native got some help from his offense as well. In the 55th minute, senior Ryan Pinkerton received a pass at midfield and took it up the right side the rest of the way. The Bearcats' goalkeeper came out to go after the ball, and the Peacock forward maneuvered his way around and was facing an empty net. The Apple Valley, California native converted his second goal of the season, putting the game away in the process.

For the game, the Peacocks outshot their guest 16-11, including a 9-4 advantage in shots placed on goal. UIU earned two more corners than SBU (5-3), and played well defensively throughout the match as well. Rortvedt tallied four saves, improving to 3-4 in net this season. Lajos Zadravecz earned seven saves in goal for Southwest Baptist, but took the loss. Eight different Peacocks took a shot in the contest, including three each from Ordenana, Pinkerton, and Blair Lyons.

Next up for Upper Iowa is Northeastern State. The Peacocks and RiverHawks will start their match at 11 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 25 at Pattison Field in Fayette.