The No. 16 Peacock men's soccer team dropped their MIAA opener on Sunday in St. Charles, Mo. against the Lions of Lindenwood University. Upper Iowa struggled to get shots off on offense, finishing with just five total shot attempts in the game. UIU scored with one minute remaining to get on the board, but ultimately dropped the match 2-1. With the loss, UIU drops to 4-2 on the season and 0-1 in the MIAA, while Lindenwood improves to 3-3 and 1-0 in the league with the win.
"I'm proud of the guys for the way they competed today," said Head Coach
Willie McGowan. "I thought they battled hard and kept fighting to the very end in the heat, and we are ready to build off the positives and move forward."
The first half was scoreless, but featured 17 total shot attempts. Lindenwood held a 12-5 advantage in that category, but the Peacock defense held strong to keep the game tied. Goalkeeper
Connor Rortvedt tallied four saves in the half, and together with the back line held strong against four corner kicks as well.
The scoring ultimately got started in the 56th minute, when Lindenwood's Michele Ganz scored his fourth goal of the year on a penalty kick. The Lions would add to their 1-0 lead 10 minutes later when Steven Lilako scored after a pass from his teammate Ryan Butchart. The home team led 2-0, and that would ultimately be enough.
Upper Iowa trailed 10-4 in shot attempts in the second stanza, but eventually got on the board in the 89th minute of the game.
Italo Martins Soares scored his second goal of the season from 25 yards away, and tucked the ball in the top right of the net for the score. UIU was on the board, but would eventually fall 2-1 in the end.
Rortvedt finished with six saves, but falls to 4-2 in the net this season. UIU trailed 22-5 in shot attempts, and 8-3 in shots placed on goal. The Lions also held a 7-1 edge in corner kicks on the day.
"We can take a lot away from today, and we are excited to move forward in the season," McGowan added. "We have big games coming up in our league."
Two of those big games take place next week, as UIU wraps up its six-game road trip. Upper Iowa heads to Bolivar, Mo. on Friday, Sept. 29 to take on Southwest Baptist at 7:30 p.m. The team will then head to Tahlequah, Okla. to match up with Northeastern State at 12 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 1.
