UP NEXT IN PEACOCK WOMEN'S SOCCER… Upper Iowa (1-5, 0-3 NSIC) returns back to Iowa and will look to claim its first conference win in front of the home crowd at Pattison Field. The Peacocks will face the #12 Bemidji State University Beavers on Friday, Sep. 21 before battling the Golden Eagles of Minnesota Crookston in an 11 a.m. matchup. The games will be broadcast live on KCRG-TV 9.3 and can be streamed through the Stretch Internet app on Roku and Amazon Fire devices, as well as Apple and Android televisions.
A GLANCE BACK... Upper Iowa hit the road for the first time in 2018 to face Concordia University, St. Paul and Minnesota State University-Mankato in last week's action. The Peacocks saw a goal from
Katie Samuels in the first half of the game against the undefeated Golden Bears, but a late goal by CSP resulted in a 2-1 loss. Minnesota State used three goals in a seven-minute span midway through the second half to top the Peacocks 4-0 on Sunday afternoon. Between both matchups, Samuels led the team with five shots,
Facienne Graham contributed three, and
Natalie Rudrud posted 17 saves.
CONFERENCE PLAY… Conference opponents have outscored the Peacocks 8-1 in matches thus far, but six of those came from two of the top-4 teams in the conference; Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota State. Upper Iowa will have another tough matchup against the number one team in conference standings on Friday afternoon before a stretch of four games against NSIC schools in the bottom half of conference rankings.
SECOND HALF STRUGGLES… The Peacocks have struggled in the second half of contests this season. Upper Iowa has both scored and allowed three goals in the first half of games this season, but have been outscored 8-0 after half-time in six matches. Despite taking more chances in the second half, UIU has seen all of its scores come in the first 35 minutes of play. Defensively, Upper Iowa stayed in the game against the undefeated Golden Bears until the 59
th minute and held #17 Minnesota State to only one goal through 66 minutes, but allowed five unanswered goals in the final 45 minutes.
THE SERIES… The Peacocks are looking for their first win since 2013 in the series against Bemidji State as they come into the weekend with a 5-9 all-time record. In last year's matchup, Bemidji State topped UIU with a 3-0 victory backed by two goals from Rachel Norton, the 2017 NSIC Offensive Player of the Year. Following an impressive 5-1 win over the Golden Eagles last season where the offense put up five goals in the first half, Upper Iowa brings a 3-2-1 all-time record into Sunday's matinee against Minnesota Crookston.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS…
vs. #12 BEMIDJI STATE… The Beavers (6-0, 3-0 NSIC) are tied at the top of conference standings with a perfect 3-0 record and come to Pattison Field boasting a six-game winning streak. BSU has outscored its opponents 13-4 (8-3 against conference opponents) thus far and is averaging 2.17 goals per game to rank #3 in the conference. Rachel Norton (5) and Dani Nelson (3) are leading the scoring efforts for the Beavers who have seen goals from six players. Norton, reigning NSIC Offensive Player of the Week, leads the conference with 28 shots (4.67/g) and is tied for third in total goals (.83/g). Allyson Smith and Melanie Peltier have combined for seven assists, and Anna Fobbe brings in a .73 goals against average.
vs. MINNESOTA CROOKSTON… The Golden Eagles (0-6, 0-3 NSIC) are looking for their first win of the 2018 season after dropping five straight shutouts in their most recent contests. UM Crookston scored three goals against Adams State University to open up the season backed by two scores from Maggee Hodgdon and a late score from Jessica Withrow. The Golden Eagles have been limited to 22 shots this season compared to their opponents' 143. Goalkeeper Olivia Puttin leads the conference in saves (56) and sits 7
th on the save percentage leaderboard (.824). UM Crookston will face Winona State University on Friday afternoon before visiting Pattison Field on Sunday.
