The No. 12 Peacock men's soccer team bounced back on Monday afternoon to earn a hard-fought, 2-1 victory in Bismarck, N.D. against the Marauders of the Univeristy of Mary. After dropping an overtime match on Saturday afternoon against Montana State-Billings, Upper Iowa rebounded well to earn its fourth win of the season, and split the weekend on the road in a neutral site. UIU scored with 15 minutes remaining in the match to pull out the win. With the victory, the Peacocks improve to 4-1 on the year, while U-Mary drops to 1-4-1 on the season.
"We had to dig deep and show our team character again to earn the victory today," said Head Coach
Willie McGowan. "As a group we banded together and held on despite some late attacks from U-Mary. It was a good win for our team."
Upper Iowa got the scoring started on Monday, and just like it has been all season long, a different Peacock got their first goal of the year.
Ryan Crabtree became the eighth player to score on the season with a goal in the 22nd minute. After a Marauder foul, the senior from Andover, Minn. took advantage of a free kick that found its way past the goalkeeper for the 1-0 lead. The Peacock defense would hold up the rest of half as well, taking their lead into the locker room.
The first half saw the visitors hold a 10-7 advantage in shot attempts, while goalkeeper
Connor Rortvedt and his back line held strong. Rortvedt tallied four first-half saves, and he would bump up that total in the second half as well. UIU also held a 6-3 lead in corners earned in the half.
The second stanza did not see any scoring for the first 20 minutes, but in the 66th minute of the match, the home team found an equalizer. Andre Almquist scored on a header from the right side to tie the game for U-Mary, and the game was back on. The Peacocks, however, would bounce back nine minutes later. UIU came right back with
Ruairidh Crawford, who scored his team-leading third goal of the season. UIU attacked down the right side, and after a cross, there was a scramble in the box. The ball fell to Crawford, and the senior from West Linton, Scotland cleaned up the mess with a goal from six yards out. Upper Iowa reclaimed the lead, and would not give it back. The Peacocks are now 2-0 all-time against the Marauders.
U-Mary led their guests in shot attempts in the second half, 8-3, but UIU made the most of their chances. For the match, the home team held a 15-13 advantage in shots, including a 11-7 lead in shots on goal. The Marauders also had four corner kick chances in the second stanza, but the UIU defense held their own. Rortvedt was solid once again in net, registering six more saves in the final 45 minutes to finish with 10 for the game. The Verona, Wis. native improves to 4-1 on the year in goal.
"The lads deserve a lot of credit for seeing this one through," added McGowan. "They did a great job of bouncing back like they did after Saturday's tough loss. It was a good effort."
The road trip is half-way done for UIU in the early part of the season. The Peacocks have three more games away from Fayette, and it begins this Sunday, Sept. 24 at Lindenwood University as the team opens up the MIAA schedule. The match begins at 1:30 p.m. down in St. Charles, Mo.
