Upper Iowa women's soccer increased their unbeaten streak to three games as the Peacocks defeated the University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs 1-0 in a wet and chilly match at Pattison Field on Sunday afternoon. Upper Iowa improves to 3-9-2, 2-7-2 NSIC, while UMD falls to 5-8-1, 4-6-1 NSIC. 

Katie Samuels notched her second goal in as many games to put the Peacocks ahead in the 79th minute, and Natalie Rudrud contained the Bulldogs with the help of a solid Peacock defense for UIU's third shutout of the season. 

The Bulldogs opened the game up with three corner kicks and a pair of shots en route to a 7-3 shot advantage over the Peacocks in the first half. UIU's offense was fairly quiet in the first period with Jessica Kron having the best look with a header in the 15th minute that was scooped up by goalkeeper Carlye Wright.

UMD had a number of missed opportunities in the second half including a shot by Mikayla Iaquinto that angled past Rudrud but ricocheted off the post to aid UIU in keeping the score level. Rudrud also came up with a commanding save in the 62nd minute off Lizzy Fontes powerful kick that looked like a promising opportunity for the Bulldogs. Aimee Sies followed Rudrud's highlight save with back-to-back blocks to fully turn away UMD's stride.

The scoreless tie finally broke with 11 minutes of play left. Samuels had taken a number of high-flying shots from far out but finally cashed in on one that flew over the head of Wright for the game-winning goal. Jordyn Ostrowski was credited with the assist in setting up the scoring opportunity by Samuels. 

UMD outshot the Peacocks 17-12 and took eight total corners compared to UIU's lone two that came in the final minutes. Samuels took five shots that saw three on frame, both season-highs and game-highs, to lead the Peacocks in the victory. 

UIU will look to continue its late season efforts on a long road trip next weekend to Minot State University (7-4-3, 5-4-2 NSIC) and University of Mary (5-6-2, 4-5-2 NSIC).