THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK MEN'S SOCCER… The Upper Iowa men's soccer team will welcome a pair of GLIAC foes to Fayette for UIU's Hall of Fame Weekend. The Peacocks play a pair of foes on Pattison Field that they have previously played against this season, starting with Davenport University on Friday, Oct. 15 at 2:30 p.m. before seeing Purdue University-Northwest on Sunday, Oct. 17 at 2:30 p.m.

LIVE COVERAGE OPTIONS… Live stats and a webcast for the matches will be available through the links at UIUPeacocks.com/LIVE and included with this story. The contests will also stream live on the new NSIC Network app through Roku and Fire devices, as well as Apple and Android TV. Search for "NSIC Network" to find the app on your relevant device. Locally, Friday's match is scheduled to be broadcast on KCRG-TV 9.2, while Sunday's match is scheduled to be broadcast on Eastern Iowa's CW 9.3.

DIGITAL GAMEDAY PROGRAM… Upper Iowa will not be printing gameday programs this season. Fans can access the interactive and digital gameday program at any time at UIUPeacocks.com/Programs. The digital programs are available to fans both at our games and those at home listening to or watching the action. QR Codes will also be located around the field to scan with your cell phone's camera that will link you directly to that game's specific digital gameday program.

RAINING ON ST. CLOUD'S PARADE... The Peacocks played just one match last weekend and took care of business with a 5-2 win over St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, Minn. Upper Iowa struck first after Daniel Pranger and Tate Lofdahl assisted Carson Cajuste on a goal at the 5:18 mark. The Huskies made a frenetic offensive push as they tried to even the score on their home pitch, and though the UIU defense thwarted multiple shots, the Huskies tied things up at the 17:57 mark. Upper Iowa quickly regained their lead just 33 seconds later after Cain Smith and Stan Cargill assisted Lofdahl on a goal at the 18:30 mark to put UIU up 2-1, and Lofdahl would increase the Upper Iowa lead to 3-1 in the 40th minute after Martin Voll launched a free kick from the UIU endline that cleared everyone and allowed Lofdahl to speed past the defense and score. SCSU out-shot UIU 13-8 in the first half and claimed a 5-1 advantage in corner kicks, but the Peacocks finished the period with a 3-1 lead.

The Peacocks wasted no time in extending their lead in the second period after Italo Martins Soares scored on the first shot of the half at the 48:02 mark after an assist from the battery of Lofdahl and Alan Dunlop. The newfound 4-1 lead for Upper Iowa would be short-lived as St. Cloud scored just 39 seconds later to cut the deficit to 4-2 off a corner kick, but Upper Iowa's lead went back to three in the 65th minute after Smith scored off an assist from Lofdahl to put UIU ahead 5-2. The Peacocks would not relinquish their lead, claiming a 5-2 win over SCSU on the road. The Huskies finished with a 20-16 shot advantage, but the Peacocks held a 10-6 advantage in shots on goal and converted on half of those on-target shots.

TATE THE GREAT... Tate Lofdahl was selected as the GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week following an overpowering offensive performance against SCSU. Lofdahl stuffed the stat sheet in a career-best game with seven points in his 67 minutes of action, scoring or assisting on all five of UIU's goals in their 5-2 win. The forward's two goals tied Stan Cargill for the high-water mark in a match for Upper Iowa this season, and his match-high four shots on goal tied Cargill for a UIU season-best. The Green Bay, Wisc. native's three assists tied Derek Oelmann (2011) for UIU's all-time mark in a match, and his seven points tied Oelmann (2010) for the second-most in a match in UIU history. Lofdahl's points, goals, assists, shots, and shots on goal were all career-highs.

SIX STRAIGHT MARTINS SOARES SCORES... After scoring in the win against the Huskies, Italo Martins Soares has recorded a goal in six consecutive matches. The forward has paced a Peacock offense that leads the high-powered Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference with 19 goals in conference competitions and ranks third with 25 overall goals this season. Martins Soares is tied for second in the GLIAC with eight goals and 19 points, and his 30 shots rank fifth in the conference. The Brasília, Brazil native surpassed his previous personal-best mark of seven goals in a season with his last score that he notched in his first year at UIU in 2017. No other player in Upper Iowa history has scored in more than three consecutive matches, which is a feat accomplished by Blair Lyons (2017), Ryan Pinkerton (2015), Derek Oelmann (2010, 2011), and Craig Signorin (2008, 2006). The only two games in which Martins Soares has not scored this season were back-to-back losses the last time the Peacocks played the Davenport Panthers and Purdue-Northwest Pride. 

FOUR-FOR-FOUR... After winning against St. Cloud, Upper Iowa holds a GLIAC-best 7-3 overall record thanks to a conference-high four-match win streak. UIU's last instance of four wins in a row came in 2015 when the Peacocks closed out the regular season with four wins, including two victories over top-25 teams. Upper Iowa also opened their 2015 campaign with a four-match winning streak, and that 2015 squad finished with a program-best record of 13-4-1. UIU went undefeated over a five-game stretch in 2014 but only won three straight in the 4-0-1 stretch. The Peacocks have only one five-match winning streak in program history after five straight shutout wins in the 2011 season, and a win over Davenport would match that five-match mark.

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS... The Peacocks have played their way to a 4-1 record on their home pitch this season. UIU has won its last three matches on Pattison Field with wins against Northwood University, Northern Michigan University, and the University of Wisconsin - Parkside. At home in Fayette, Upper Iowa has outscored its opponents by a 13-7 margin, including two shutout victories. The Peacocks are looking to continue the successful defense of their home field this weekend before playing four straight away matches ahead of their regular-season finale on Pattison Field.

PREPARING FOR THE PANTHERS, PT. 2... Davenport University comes into their matchup against the Peacocks with a 5-5 (5-2 GLIAC) record. After starting their season with an 0-3 record in non-conference play, the Panthers strung together five consecutive GLIAC wins to claim the top spot in the conference. However, DU has dropped its last two matches, falling 2-1 in double-overtime against Saginaw Valley State University before a 2-1 loss to Purdue-Northwest. The Panthers have outscored their opponents 20-18 and have outscored GLIAC foes by a 14-9 margin. DU has been out-shot 139-133, but they hold a 62-59 advantage in shots on goal. Justice Sikkema leads the Panthers with 15 points on 26 shots and is tied for third in the GLIAC with seven goals, while Evan Marquess is tied for the third-best assist total in the conference with six. Goalkeeper Shane Marinkovich leads DU with 26 saves, and his .743 save percentage ranks third in the GLIAC, while his nine goals allowed are the fourth-fewest. Davenport was picked to finish third in the GLIAC Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll and is currently tied with Purdue-Northwest for the top in-conference record. The Panthers hold a 4-0 record against the Peacocks all time. Davenport claimed a 3-2 win at home over Upper Iowa earlier this season on Sep. 19 despite UIU taking the lead early in each half.

PREPARING FOR THE PRIDE, PT. 2...  Purdue University - Northwest enters the weekend with a record of 6-4 (5-2 GLIAC). The Pride opened the season with a 1-2 record in non-conference play before securing consecutive wins to open their conference slate. PNW then dropped back-to-back GLIAC matches, but their second was a narrow 2-1 loss against then-No. 14 Wisconsin-Parkside in overtime. The Pride have since won consecutive matches against Saginaw Valley, Northwood, and Davenport to improve to tie the Panthers for the top conference record. The Pride boast the second-best overall goal differential in the GLIAC with a 21-11 margin, and their 16-5 advantage in conference play ranks first as their five goals allowed are the fewest in the conference schedule. PNW has out-shot their opponents 107-88, including a 45-42 advantage in shots on goal. Offensively, Isaiah Nieves paces the Pride with 26 shots, 12 points, and six assists, tying for third in the GLIAC in dimes. Goalkeeper Sebastian Contreras' 21 saves lead PNW while his 0.75 goals against average tops the GLIAC and his .778 save percentage is second-best. Purdue-Northwest was voted to finish fourth in the GLIAC Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll and is currently tied with Davenport for the top in-conference record. The Pride hold a 3-0-1 record all-time against Upper Iowa. PNW secured a 3-0 win at home over UIU earlier this season on Sep. 17. The Pride are scheduled to play St. Cloud State University (3-7-1, 2-5 GLIAC) prior to playing the Peacocks.

LOOKING AHEAD… The Peacocks make their way to Michigan for a pair of GLIAC contests on the road against Northwood University on Friday, Oct. 22 at 2 p.m. in Midland, Mich. and Saginaw Valley State University on Sunday, Oct. 24 at 12 p.m. in Saginaw, Mich.
 

2021 Team Leaders	POINTS	GOALS	ASSISTS	SHOTS	SAVES
UPPER IOWA	Martins Soares - 19	Martins Soares - 8	Dunlop - 8	Martins Soares - 30	Alonzo - 16
DAVENPORT	Sikkema - 15	Sikkema - 7	Marquess - 6	Sikkema/Wehlan - 26	Marinkovich - 26
PURDUE-NW	Nieves - 12	Moran - 4	Nieves - 6	Nieves - 26	Contreras - 21