The Upper Iowa men's soccer team battled to a scoreless draw against Lewis University Sunday afternoon through two overtime periods. Despite dropping to ten men early in the first half, the Peacocks were able to keep the Flyers off the board and hold on for 0-0 draw. 

The Peacocks were in for an up-hill fight after being forced to play with just ten men after receiving a red card in the 16th minute of Sunday's game. The Flyers controlled the pace of play for most of the first half, out shooting Upper Iowa 8-0. Lewis also held an advantage in corner kicks during the first half 3-0 but strong defending and goalkeeping helped keep the score level through halftime. 

The second half once again saw the Peacocks fighting hard to keep things even despite the numerical disadvantage. Facing the Flyers attack, the Peacocks back line was tested time and time again as strong efforts from junior Seth Russell and sophomore Cameron Bosacki prevented Lewis from finding the back of the net. First year goaltender Nikolai Gogol put forth another strong effort in goal, coming up with six saves on the day and posting his first clean sheet as a Peacock. 

Overtime saw the best scoring opportunity of the day for Upper Iowa when Joaquin Alonso fired a shot off the crossbar from the just inside the 18. The shot had gotten over the top of the Flyers' goalkeeper but just couldn't dip low enough as it caught the bottom of the crossbar and bounced back towards the Lewis defenders. The Peacocks continued to fight through the end of the second overtime period, warding off a number of Lewis' opportunities. Freshman Robin Stoffels came up with a few timely tackles at the end of overtime to help the Peacocks earn their first shutout of 2018.

Coach Willie McGowan saw a massive amount of character in the way his team fought every minute in today's match, earning a hard-fought draw on the road. The Peacocks had a great amount of support that helped lift the team today and drive them through both regulation and overtime. The Peacocks will travel to Springfield, Missouri next Friday as they look for their first win of the season, taking on the Drury University Panthers.