Upper Iowa tied Purdue-Northwest University by a 3-3 count in Saturday's draw. Upper Iowa improves to 0-9-1 (0-6-1 in GLIAC play) while Purdue-Northwest moves to 1-9-1 (1-5-1). Today's match resulted in the first conference standings points for Upper Iowa in GLIAC play history.
The Peacocks got out to an early 1-0 lead in the first half. Junior forward Italo Martins Soares was able to find the net off of a breakaway from 10 yards out at the 35th minute mark. This was Upper Iowa's second lead on the year and their first goal since Sept. 27. Prior to the goal, the two teams went head to head putting on a great defensive display. Peacocks goalkeeper, Anthony Velez made some impressive saves on a few Purdue-Northwest scoring opportunities. Upper Iowa also found themselves in position to score several times but were unable to find the net until Soares' goal. Velez made four saves in the first half compared to just one made by the Lions' goalkeeper.
The Lions were able to get on the board when junior forward Matt Bahena scored inside the box after being led in by fellow junior forward Enrique Serna at the 40th minute mark. Bahena was able to find the back of the net again just four minutes later. Bahena picked up a free kick off the foot of sophomore midfielder Josue Espinoza and scored putting the Lions up 2-1 going into half.
Purdue-Northwest was able to push their lead to 3-1 five minutes into the second half. After the Peacocks committed a foul, senior midfielder Daniel Freidman scored on a penalty kick. The Peacocks fought back in a big way. Junior defender Alan Dunlop shined on both sides of the ball. Dunlop made a variety of stops on defense and had a pair of shots off that barely missed including a shot deflected directly off the crossbar. Dunlop had seven total shots in the contest and was a big contributor to the Peacocks powerful performance on offense. Upper Iowa cut down their deficit to 3-2 at the 73rd minute mark. Junior forward Tate Lofdahl scored after a crisp relay of passes from teammates Soares and senior midfielder Seth Russel. The Peacocks completed the comeback in the 87th minute when freshman midfielder Nate Kopetsky scored on a free kick to even the game at three.
The match continued into double overtime where the two teams played a hard fought scoreless battle resulting in the final score of 3-3. Upper Iowa's comeback was highlighted by their dominant second half of play.
TURNING POINT... Lofdahl's goal in the 73rd minute sparked Upper Iowa's second half comeback and led to the eventual 3-3 draw.
PEACOCK OF THE GAME... Kopetsky scored the final goal of the game that tied it up for the Peacocks. He had five shots on the day, four of which were on goal.
STATS OF THE GAME... Upper Iowa has met their match with Purdue Northwest. The two teams were even on goals (3), assists (2), and shots (25). The two teams also had similar totals for shots on goal, PNW had 12 compared to UIU's nine and fouls, PNW had 15 compared to UIU's 14 as well as saves, PNW had six compared to UIU's eight.
QUOTABLES ... "Our performance today should have been good enough to register a win on our record. We played with a good tempo throughout and created a lot of chances, especially in the second half where we dominated possession and registered, I think, 15 shots on goal. Two of which have hit the crossbar, we've hit the post, and made their keeper make some good saves.
We've seen the team's performances improve these past two games and we head into the 2
nd half of GLIAC play with a little more confidence and a lot more to prove. This group of guys have a lot of talent and we're now just starting to see things come together. Hopefully we can kick on a little more as we can still get into post-season play with a run of results, and once you are in the tournament – anything can happen."
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Willie McGowan, Head Soccer Coach
UP NEXT... Upper Iowa will host a pair of home games. On Friday, Oct.18 at 3 p.m., Upper Iowa will take on Northern Michigan University on Pattison Field. Upper Iowa will then take on the University of Wisconsin-Parkside on Sunday, Oct.20 at 2 p.m. If you'd like to follow along via live stats and a webcast, visit UIUPeacocks.com/LIVE.
