THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK WOMEN'S SOCCER… Upper Iowa is on the road for the first time in 2019 this weekend in northwest Minnesota with a pair of Northern Sun Conference matches at Bemidji State University and the University of Minnesota Crookston on Friday and Sunday, respectively. The Peacocks will carry their 0-3-2 overall record and 0-1-1 NSIC record into the match with the Beavers (2-2-1, 1-0-1 NSIC) at 3 p.m. on Friday and the Golden Eagles (0-3,0-2 NSIC) at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
LIVE OPTIONS… Fans unable to attend the matches can follow along via live stats and a webcast, links can be found at UIUPeacocks.com/Live. Both matches will be streamed through the NSIC app on Roku and Amazon Fire devices, as well as Apple and Android televisions.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS WITH THE PEACOCKS… The Peacocks posted a 1-1 tie with William Jewell College in the opening match of the season thanks to a late-game goal by freshman
Aimee Kemper and earned their second point of the season with a 0-0 draw against Concordia University, St. Paul last weekend. UIU three losses include a pair of defeats at the Peacock Soccer Classic to Davenport University (1-0) and the University of Wisconsin-Parkside (2-0) and a conference loss to No. 3 Minnesota State University (6-0) last Sunday.
Natalie Rudrud has been in goal for nearly 476 minutes making 44 saves for the Peacocks allowing 9 goals. The first half has been the issue for UIU, as 7 of the 10 goals allowed have come in the opening frame and 4 scores have hit the scoreboard in the first 20 minutes and 3 in the first 10 minutes of action. UIU has attempted 56 shots with 27 put on frame.
Jessica Kron and Kaite Samuels lead the team in shots with 10 apiece, while
Facienne Graham and
Jayna Morikawa follow with 8 and 7, respectively.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS… The Beavers come into the weekend 2-2-1 after a tie at St. Cloud State University and a 2-1 win at University of Minnesota Duluth to open conference play. The match versus SCSU went into double overtime with neither team scoring. Goalkeepers, Alyssa Stumbaugh and Emma Riedi totaled five saves to combine for their first clean sheet of the season. At UMD, Sara Wendt scored both goals for BSU and earned Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors. BSU's two losses came to No. 4 Grand Valley State University (2-0) and No. 8 University of Central Missouri (1-0).
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES… The Golden Eagles are looking to get their first result of 2019 and of the Kyle Halfpop era. Minnesota Crookston enters the weekend with a 0-3 (0-2 NSIC) mark. Minnesota Crookston kept a clean sheet in the first half of the St. Cloud State game last Sunday. The Golden Eagles were led by Athena DiMario Done, who turned away 10 shots from the Huskies in the opening stanza. Minnesota Crookston is looking to continue to improve on the offensive end. The Golden Eagles are looking for their elusive first goal of the season. Minnesota Crookston has six shots on the season with three shots on goal. The number isn't completely indicative of the chances the Golden Eagles have had, as they have continued to garner more chances on the opposing end in recent games. The Golden Eagles have been led by Jessica Withrow with two shots. In net, Athena DiMario Done (Jr., GK, Windsor, Ontario) has a 2.91 goals against average with 25 saves and a .758 save percentage. DiMario Done is eighth all-time in saves at Minnesota Crookston.
LAST TIME WE MET… Bemidji State defeated Upper Iowa 5-1 in mid-September in Fayette behind a pair of goals by Allyson Smith and Rachael Norton. The Beavers took a 4-1 lead into the break fueled by three goals in the opening 10 minutes. Minnesota Crookston defeated Upper Iowa 1-0 when Maggee Hodgdon tracked down a long bounding ball and tapped it over the goal line in the final seconds of regulation to shock the home crowd and give the Golden Eagles their first win of the year.
UP NEXT… Upper Iowa returns home next weekend for two NSIC matches against Minnesota State University Moorhead on Friday, Oct. 4 at 1 p.m. and Northern State University on Sunday, Oct. 6 at 12 p.m. Both matches are part of the UIU Homecoming Weekend festivities.
