An injury plagued Peacock side fell to the #18 Northeastern State RiverHawks 2-0 Friday evening. The loss drops the Peacocks to 4-9-2 and 2-5 against MIAA opponents. Upper Iowa will have one more opportunity to close out the season on a high note as they take on the Southwest Baptist Bearcats Sunday afternoon.

The injury bug struck the Peacocks as they were without captains Seth Russell and Marko Cirko as well as Efrain Gonzalez Jr. who has been a staple this year for the Peacocks' midfield.

The RiverHawks controlled the first half, scoring two goals on 17 shots, while the Peacocks on the other end of the pitch were only able to take three shots. The second half saw a stronger offensive effort as Upper Iowa doubled their first half shot total with six but the Peacocks were unable to find the back of the net. Upper Iowa's offense was led by sophomore Italo Martins Soares who finished the day with five shots and three on target.

Once again, the Peacocks saw a strong performance from senior goalkeeper Nikolai Gogol. Gogol tied his season high save total with 13, coming up with 11 of those in the first half. The match against Northeastern State marks the fifth time this season that Gogol has recorded ten or more saves in a match. Coming into the game against the RiverHawks, Gogol was ranked fifth in the nation in saves per game and 35^th in save percentage.

The Peacocks will have one more chance to end the season with a bang as they wrap up the 2018 season against Southwest Baptist on Sunday afternoon. The all-time record against the Bearcats sits in the Peacocks favor as they have recorded a 9-1-1 all-time record against Southwest Baptist. Kickoff for Sunday's match is scheduled for 2pm and can be viewed at http://uiupeacocks.com/live.