Upper Iowa's second half comeback ended early as they lost to Lindenwood University by a 3-1 count this afternoon. This is the second straight match that the Peacocks fell to a Missouri based opponent on the road by a score of 3-1. Similar to Friday's match, Lindenwood went ahead early on with a 2-0 lead before the two teams traded goals to end with a final score of 3-1. Lindenwood is now 13-2 alltime against the Peacocks. The Lions will start their season 1-1 while the Peacocks return to Fayette 0-2.
The Lions got on the board first in the 33rd minute when junior midfielder Leon Silva stole the ball from a Peacock defender and found the upper right corner of the net from the top of the box.
Prior to Silva's goal, Upper Iowa's defense and goalkeeper, senior Anthony Velez did a great job of combating the Lions persistent attack. Seven shots were deferred by the Peacocks, five of which resulted in saves by Velez including a brilliant one handed swat in the fifteenth minute of action. Sophomore defender Alex Lynch also had an impressive block in the 28th minute that prevented an inevitable scoring opportunity for Lindenwood.
Just 43 seconds into the second half, the Lions scored again. Freshman midfielder Jacob Quinn found the net from the top of the box after receiving a crisp back pass from sophomore defender Luke McBeth. Silva was also awarded an assist on the play, bringing his point total to three on the day.
Junior forward Italo Martins Soares then found the net for the Peacocks in the 59th minute after weaving through the Lindenwood defense, cutting Upper Iowa's deficit down to just one goal. Soares barely missed his first shot of the day in the 11th minute which deflected off of the crossbar.
In the 67th minute, Lindenwood scored to go up by the eventual final count of 3-1 when senior midfielder Thomas Hutchenson headed in a strike off the foot of sophomore midfielder Matt Rush.
PEACOCK OF THE GAME...
- Today's Peacock of the game is Italo Martins Soares. Soares had two shots in the match, scoring on his second after soaring past Lindenwood defenders and finding the top right corner of the net. That was Soares first goal of the season but expect more to come as he was the Peacock's leading scorer in 2018.
STAT OF THE GAME...
QUOTABLE... "We know we are a better team than the result today and that we didn't match the intensity or game plan we had set up today. We didn't put enough pressure through our midfield and that led to overloads being created throughout our backline. We'll take a look at this game and realise we were a big component of our own downfall and we'll work harder to make sure the mistakes we saw today don't happen again. The lads are pretty hurt after the result and hopefully it will provide the motivation to be better as we move forward." -
Willie McGowan, Head Soccer Coach
UP NEXT...
Upper Iowa will play their home opener on Thursday, Sept.12 at 2 p.m. as they host the University of Missouri - St. Louis Tritons at Pattison Field. Live options for Thursday's matinee are available at UIUPeacocks.com/LIVE.
