Six years ago, the Peacock women's soccer squad defeated Minot State University in a Northern Sun Conference Tournament quarterfinal match on the pitch at Pattison Field in Fayette. The 1-0 victory marked Upper Iowa's fourth straight quarterfinal win and berth to the NSIC Tournament semifinals.
 
Upper Iowa got the game-winning goal before many fans had gotten comfortable in the stands. Just 1:16 into the game Corinne Wronski found her sister Aimee breaking free behind the defense; Aimee took the pass and notched her tenth goal of the season. Kaitlyn Emanuel and the Peacock defenders took it from there shutting out the Beavers on 16 shot attempts. Emanuel gathered 6 saves in the match.
 
The Peacocks closed out their season with a 1-0 loss at Minnesota State University, Mankato in the semifinals, but posted a final record of 11-7-1 and a conference mark of 10-4-1. Following the season, Aimee Wronski and Madie Edwards were named to the All-NSIC First Team, while Jess Dickhaus garnered a place on the All-NSIC Second Team and Emanuel was selected to the All-NSIC Third Team.
 
You can read all about the game in the recap below from Nov. 5, 2014. To check out what else has happened on this date over the last 15 years, check out this link... UIUPeacocks.com/OTD.

On Thursdays this year, the Peacocks will look back at some great moments in our history. We will share the stories on social media as well under the hashtag #ThrowbackThursday.

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Upper Iowa 1 – Minot State 0 || Box Score || Nov. 5, 2014
 
Upper Iowa's women's soccer team knew they would be in for a battle against the Beavers of Minot State on a cool, windy, overcast day, and that is exactly what they got. In a physical match that was played evenly for 88 minutes, the Peacocks made the most of their first opportunity, scoring on the first shot of the game and taking the early and eventually final 1-0 lead. With the win, UIU will head to their fourth consecutive NSIC/US Bank Tournament semifinal.

"That was just a gritty performance from our players," said Head Coach Brian Diaz. "We came out of the gate fast." 

The game started with a bang. Before anyone could blink the Peacocks took a 1-0 lead. Just over a minute in Corinne Wronski sent a through ball behind the Beaver defenders to her sister, Aimee Wronski, who took a pair of touches and ripped a low shot that found the back of the net.

"When you have a team like Minot State that is so strong defensively, getting that early goal is good because it forces them to come out and try to get a goal as well," said Diaz. "It opens the game up a little bit, so scoring that first goal forced them to chase the game."

The wind was a large factor and the Beavers had it at their back for the remainder of the first half. Minot State outshot the Peacocks 11-8 in the first 45 minutes and put a lot of pressure on the UIU defense, but Kaitlyn Emanuel kept the Beavers at bay with four saves. Upper Iowa led at halftime, 1-0.

In the second half, the Peacocks had the wind in their favor and used it to their advantage. The Peacocks outshot Minot State 9-5 in the second half and kept the ball in the Beaver's half for the majority of the period. The Peacocks nearly took a two-goal lead with ten minutes left when Madie Edwards got her head on an Aimee Wronski corner kick, but the ball skipped just wide and the score remained 1-0.

The Beavers nearly tied the game in the waning moments when a cross nearly caught Emanuel out of position. The ball bounced around for a bit in the box, but the Byron, Minnesota native was able to recover and jump on it before Minot State could put a shot on goal. The Peacocks controlled the ball as the clocked ticked away until the final buzzer sounded.

Diaz applauded the play of Rachel Fowler and Mackenzie Taldone in the holding midfield position for controlling the tempo of the game from a defensive and offensive standpoint, as well as the back line of Jess Dickhaus, Storm Walsh, Trina Gallagher and Danielle Weiss for their bend-but-don't-break defense in this match. He also commended Emanuel's play in goal and her ability to win balls out of the air, which Minot State used often in their attack.  

"I'm really proud of this team," said Diaz. "Nothing has come easy for us this year, we've had to battle for everything. They really are up for any adversity and it seems the more adversity they face, the stronger they come out. I'm so proud of their character and the way they've played."