The Peacock women's soccer team dropped a wild game on Sunday afternoon in Wayne, Neb. against the Wayne State Wildcats. The teams were tied at halftime, but the home team took a 2-1 lead. UIU came back to tie it, but again the Wildcats answered with the game-winner late in the game. It was a tight contest the entire way, with the home leading 19-15 in shot attempts. With the loss, Upper Iowa drops to 1-5-1 overall and 1-3-1 in the Northern Sun Conference. Wayne State improves to 2-3-3 overall and 1-2-2 in league play.
Upper Iowa got the scoring started in the 21st minute of the first half when
Corel Carmichael took a cross from
Birgit Rijnders and tapped it in from six yards out to take the 1-0 lead. The goal was Carmichael's second of the season, tied for second-most on the team this season. Six minutes later, the home team responded, as they would all day. Christina Stasi scored her second goal of the year for the Wildcats to tie the match in the 27th minute.
In the half, Wayne State led 9-8 in shot attempts, and the first 45 minutes were close the entire way. The game was tied at halftime, with both teams playing solid defense throughout.
Caila Petrie tallied one first-half save, and would collect two more in the second stanza.
The second half got going six minutes into the period, when the home team took their first lead of the day. Shelby Bullard scored in the 51st minute from 15 yards away and gave WSC a 2-1 advantage. However, the Peacocks would respond themselves to tie the game. Junior Jordyn Ostrowski scored her team-leading third goal of the year in the 63rd minute to tie the match. Ostrowski received a pass from
Rachel Fowler on a free kick, and put the header through the net to tie the game, 2-2.
Wayne State would score late, however, with a goal in the 79th minute from Sophie Ketchmark to give the home team a 3-2 advantage. UIU had a couple more chances, but could not capitalize in the end. The Wildcats would hold on for the close home win.
Wayne State held a 19-15 lead in shots, but UIU held a 7-6 edge in shots placed on goal. The home team led 3-1 in corners earned, and Petrie tallied three saves in net.
Upper Iowa will come back to Fayette next weekend for a pair of NSIC matchups. The Peacocks will take on the St. Cloud State Huskies on Friday, Sept. 29 at 3 p.m., and then will host the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs on Sunday, Oct. 1 at 1 p.m. Friday's game will air live in eastern Iowa on KCRG TV 9.2, while Sunday's match airs live on KCRG TV 9.3.
