Upper Iowa was defeated 4-1 in today's match versus Northern Michigan University. The match was highlighted by a breakaway goal scored by Seth Russel. After a hard fought first half, the Wildcats were able to pull away from the Peacocks and secure the win.
The Peacocks got out to an early 1-0 lead in the first half of play. The first half began with a twenty minute, back and forth, scoreless battle between the two teams. At the 20th minute mark, Seth Russell was able to beat two Northern Michigan defenders on a breakaway and score from five yards out on the left side. The goal was Russell's first on the year and created the third lead on the season for Upper Iowa.
The lead remained intact until the 33rd minute when senior forward Ben Hoffman was able to score within the box and even up the match. Hoffman got the ball on a cross from freshman defender Francisco Espinoza that lined him up perfectly to score. Hoffman had a wide open net to score on since Velez came out from goal to defend Espinoza on the right side. The goal was Hoffman's second on the season. The match remained 1-1 going into half.
Northern Michigan took the lead for the first time in the match early on in the second half. At the 50th minute mark, freshman midfielder Ryan Palmbaum scored off of a rebound from senior defender Lewis Murray. Palmbaum then scored again after picking up a free kick inside the box from from junior midfielder Arni Eiriksson in the 53rd minute. Palmbaum scored for a third time on a breakaway from the right side at the 54th minute mark. Palmbuam's hat trick came within 10 minutes into the second half and spanned over just three minutes and 45 seconds of play. After the three goals, Palmbaum as a freshman now leads the Wildcats in a plethora of offensive categories including points (12), goals (5), assists (2) and shots (26).
The remaining 35 minutes of play were scoreless. The Peacocks had a few good opportunities to score, including a shot that just missed right from junior forward Italo Martins Soares off of a cross from junior defender Alan Dunlop in the 73rd minute. However, the Peacocks were unable to score in the second half, ending the game 4-1 in favor of the Wildcats.
TURNING POINT... Palmbaum's first goal in the 50th minute put Northern Michigan up for the first time in the game and led to his two other scores.
PEACOCK OF THE GAME... Seth Russell scored the lone goal for Upper Iowa on the day in addition to playing solid defense in transition.
STATS OF THE GAME... Freshman Ryan Palmbaum's second half hat trick took him just three minutes and 45 seconds to produce. That is the second hat trick the Peacocks have let up so far this season. The first coming from Connor Rutz versus Saginaw Valley State University on Sept. 27.
QUOTABLE...
- "We're a bit disappointed and frustrated right now. We worked for the last week or so on how to defend inside the box and put bodies on open men. Today, we gave up four goals that were pretty much all scored inside the six yard box. First half we played strong, Seth scored a great goal. We started the second half quietly and gave up quick three goals. At some point we have to learn that we can't do that. Overall, Northern Michigan controlled the majority of the game. We had a good start but nothing really worked for us. We tried some different substitutions to make things happen. We just did not have enough to beat Northern Michigan today." - Head Coach, Willie McGowan
UP NEXT... Upper Iowa will take on the University of Wisconsin-Parkside on Sunday, Oct.20 at 2 p.m. If you would like to follow along via live stats and a webcast, visit UIUPeacocks.com/LIVE.
