THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK MEN'S SOCCER... The No. 22 Upper Iowa men's soccer team hits the road for the first time in 2017, and it begins in Marquette, Mich. on Thursday, Sept. 7. The Peacocks will take on the Wildcats of Northern Michigan University at 4 p.m. for their only game of the week. The game marks the first of a six-game road trip before UIU comes back to Fayette on Oct. 6. Thursday's match marks the first time ever these two schools will meet.
 

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SWEET START... UIU picked up a pair of home wins to kick off 2017, including a 4-1 season-opening victory over the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. With 18 minutes left in the match, Upper Iowa was in a deadlock at 1-1 with the visitors. However, the offense took over in the final minutes, scoring three times in that span to break the game open. On Sunday afternoon, Upper Iowa picked up its first shutout of 2017, winning a 1-0 battle against Lewis University. UIU scored the lone goal of the game midway through the first half, and held on with outstanding defense to pick up their first shutout since Oct. 22, 2016.

NATIONAL RANKINGS... On Tuesday afternoon the United Soccer Coaches released its official national rankings after the first week of play and the Upper Iowa men's soccer team is currently ranked No. 22 in the country. The Peacocks (2-0) are off to a perfect start for the second time in the last three seasons, and picked up a pair of wins last week at home under first-year Head Coach Willie McGowan.

IN NEED OF ASSISTANCE... The Peacocks have scored five goals so far this season, and have tallied five assists as well. Five different Upper Iowa players have an assist on the year, including Emilio Meraz-Rodriguez, Ruairidh Crawford, Efrain Gonzalez Jr., Seth Russell, and Tate Lofdahl. UIU picked up a double-assist on their third goal of the game in the opener against Wisconsin-Parkside. With three minutes remaining, Crawford and Russell combined for an assist on a header goal from Italo Martins Soares. The goal gave UIU an insurmountable 3-1 lead late in the game.

ARE YOU IN GOOD HANDS?... Connor Rortvedt is off to a good start in net for the Peacocks. The senior goalkeeper has tallied five saves, and is a part of a backline for UIU that has allowed just one goal in 25 shot attempts. The defense for Upper Iowa, including defenders Logan Dahnert, Diego Duran, Cameron Busacki, Tim Bracket, Fauston Ordenana, and others are holding opponents to a .040 shot percentage, and of the 25 shots, just 6 have been placed on goal. Teams are taking just 12.5 shots per game so far this season against UIU.
 

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ABOUT THE OPPONENT...

vs. NORTHERN MICHIGAN... The Wildcats (2-0) opened 2017 with a 1-0 victory over the Univeristy of Indianapolis, and picked up a double-overtime victory against the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Sophomore David Feldmann leads the team with three points, and scored the game-winning goal against Indianapolis, while he assisted on Sveinn Karlsson's score on Saturday against UMSL. Sophomore goalkeeper Filippo Torelli played all 200 minutes in goal for the Wildcats over the weekend earning his first clean sheet of his career Thursday against Indianapolis. After allowing a pair of goals on Saturday in the tie, Torelli's goals against average increased to 0.9 through the season's first two games.