A tough matchup for the Peacocks proved to be too much to handle as the Upper Iowa men's soccer team fell to #10 Fort Hays State 3-1 on Friday afternoon. The Peacocks went out in front early thanks to a goal from Italo Martins Soares but the high-powered Tiger offense would come back with three more of their own to seal the deal.

The match started off on a high note as the Peacocks were able to capitalize on a miscue by the Fort Hays keeper. The Tiger goalkeeper was caught out of net and high off his line when Italo Martins Soares collected the ball and fired a long-range shot that gave Upper Iowa the early lead and his team leading fifth goal of the season.

Fort Hays would answer in the 31^st minute when Santiago Agudelo put the Tigers on the board. Both sides carried the deadlock into the half and the match remained level until the Tigers added their second goal in the 51^st minute. The Tigers would add a security goal in the 85^th minute to put the game to rest.

The Peacocks defense had their hands full as they tried to limit the production of Fort Hays' Agudelo who is one of the top scorers in Division II. The Tigers offense out-shot Upper Iowa 26-6 but another strong performance from Nikolai Gogol kept the Peacocks in the game, coming up with 13 saves on the night. Gogol's performance against Fort Hays marks his fourth game this season with 10 or more saves, the first time a Peacock goalkeeper has accomplished the feat since 2009.

The Peacocks will look to rebound on Sunday when they take on the University of Mary Marauders at Pattison Field. Prior to Sunday's kickoff, the Upper Iowa athletic department and men's soccer program will recognize their three Peacock seniors who will be suiting up for the final time at Pattison Field. Kickoff for Sunday's game is scheduled for 2:30 with the seniors being recognized about 30 minutes prior to kickoff.