THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK MEN'S SOCCER… The Upper Iowa University men's soccer team makes its 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.

LIVE COVERAGE OPTIONS… We've got you covered with several live options while the Peacocks are on the road. Live stats and webcasts produced by Northwood and Saginaw Valley State will be available through the links included with this story and at UIUPeacocks.com/LIVE. Northwood's webcast will be available free of charge, but Saginaw Valley's webcast requires pay-per-view access.

BESTED BY BIG CATS... The Peacocks were unable to build upon the four-match winning streak that they brought into their last weekend of play as the Panthers of Davenport University and the Pride of Purdue University - Northwest bested Upper Iowa in Fayette. UIU fell by a score of 2-1 against DU on Friday before falling by a score of 3-1 against PNW on Sunday.

On Friday, the Peacocks out-shot the Panthers 10-6 in the first half and 14-12 overall, but Davenport finished with a 3-1 advantage in shots on goal and a 2-1 advantage on the scoreboard. DU got a pair of goals from Matt Whelan in the 20th and 61st minutes, and Upper Iowa was unable to score until the 87:29 mark when they recorded their first and only shot on goal. Tate Lofdahl played a corner into the box where Italo Martins Soares flipped through the air and scored on an impressive bicycle kick to cut the UIU deficit to 2-1, but DU held on to secure the win despite a hard push from the Peacocks as they attempted to score an equalizer in the final minute of the match.

On Sunday, the Peacocks looked to be in an early offensive rhythm against the Pride and took the lead at the 21:45 mark after Martins Soares and Lofdahl assisted Stan Cargill to put Upper Iowa up 1-0. Purdue-Northwest quickly evened the score with a goal of their own at the 22:59 mark, and the Peacocks were unable to reclaim their lead despite three consecutive corner kicks from the 23:56 to 24:27 marks. After a chippy first period, an even more physical second half saw each team miss their first shot before Purdue-Northwest's Christian Booth scored to put PNW up 2-1 at the 54:40 mark. Booth would take and make the next shot of the match at the 59:03 mark to increase the PNW lead to 3-1, and that is where the score remained at full time.

WHO'S PACING THE PEACOCKS... Italo Martins Soares leads the Peacocks in points (22) and goals (9), ranking second in the GLIAC in each category. The forward has recorded a point in eight consecutive matches, and he notched a goal in seven straight contests before Sunday against PNW. Martins Soares (4) ranks third on the team in assists, and Alan Dunlop (8) leads the Peacocks in dimes while tying for second in the conference. Stan Cargill ranks second on the Peacocks in goals (6), points (14), and shots (25), and he has dished out a pair of assists. Tate Lofdahl has assisted in three straight matches, recording nine points over those three contests. Lofdahl ranks second in assists with five and third in both goals (4) and points (13). Cain Smith has tallied eight points thanks to three goals and two assists, and he has started all 12 games for UIU while playing all but 12 of their 1080 possible minutes. Martin Voll has also started each of UIU's dozen games, and the freshman defender has played full time in each contest while adding a goal and an assist. Goalkeeper Osvaldo Alonzo leads Upper Iowa with 20 saves and a .645 save percentage, and UIU has recorded a shutout and is 4-2 with Alonzo in goal.

UIU BY THE NUMBERS... The Peacocks have outscored their opponents by a 27-21 margin this season en route to their 7-5 (4-5 GLIAC) record. UIU has outshot its opponents 161-127, which includes a 66-52 margin in shots on goal. Upper Iowa's 27 goals are tied for the second-best total in the GLIAC, and their 2.25 goals per game ranks second. Five of the seven UIU wins have been by two or more goals, but three of the five UIU losses have been by two or more goals. The Peacocks are just 1-3 on the road in GLIAC contests this season, but they claimed a 5-2 win over St. Cloud State in their last road match to win their fourth match in a row before a bumpy weekend at home.

TAMING THE TIMBERWOLVES, PT. 2... Northwood University comes into their matchup against the Peacocks with a record of 3-9-1 (2-6-1 GLIAC) on the season. The Timberwolves are 2-1 in their last three matches following a stretch in which they went 0-6-1. NU claimed a pair of 2-1 wins over Saginaw Valley State and Northern Michigan University before falling by a score of 5-1 in their last match against the University of Wisconsin - Parkside. Northwood has been out-shot 212-137 by their opponents, which includes a 123-67 deficit in shots on goal. The Timberwolves have been outscored 39-19, and they have allowed the most goals in the conference while scoring the second-fewest. Mykah Skervin's four goals and nine points lead the NU offense, and goalkeeper Robert Gjelaj's 83 saves lead the GLIAC by a wide margin as the next highest total is 32. Northwood tied with GLIAC newcomers, St. Cloud State University, for sixth in the 2021 GLIAC Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll, ranking one spot ahead of Upper Iowa. NU is 3-1 all-time against UIU, but the Peacocks claimed a 5-3 win in their first matchup this season on Sep. 26 in Fayette. That match saw the Peacocks bounce back from a 3-1 halftime deficit to score four unanswered goals in the second period and earn their first GLIAC win in program history.

CLIPPING THE CARDINALS, PT. 2... Saginaw Valley State University enters the weekend with a record of 7-4-2 (4-3-2 GLIAC). The Cardinals are 1-2-2 in their last five matches following a 6-2 start to the season, and they are coming off a weekend in which they tied against Wisconsin - Parkside and Northern Michigan. SVSU has out-shot their opponents by a 235-136 margin, including a 103-51 advantage in shots on goal. The Cardinals have outscored their opponents by a 27-11 margin overall but have been outscored 5-3 in their last five matches, including a pair of 0-0 ties in their last two. Offensively, SVSU is led by Brady Walker and his 18 points and seven goals, and his four assists rank second on the team. Walker ranks fourth in the GLIAC in points and is tied for fourth in goals. Defensively, Saginaw Valley's 0.8 goals allowed average leads the GLIAC, and SVSU goalkeeper Mason Maziaz leads the conference in save percentage (.933), goals allowed average (0.18), and shutouts (4). Saginaw Valley State was picked to finish first in the 2021 GLIAC Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll after being named as the GLIAC regular-season champions last season. The Cardinals are currently ranked fifth in the conference, one spot ahead of Upper Iowa. SVSU is 5-0 all-time against UIU and claimed a 3-1 win in their last match earlier this season on Sep. 24 in Fayette. The Cardinals are scheduled to face St. Cloud State prior to their matchup with the Peacocks.

LOOKING AHEAD… The Peacocks prepare for the final matches of their regular season as they face the University of Wisconsin - Parkside on Friday, Oct. 29 at 2:30 p.m. in Kenosha, Wisc. before matching up against Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Mich. on Sunday, Oct. 31 at 2 p.m. Upper Iowa will conclude their season against St. Cloud State University at home in Fayette, Iowa on Thursday, Nov. 4 at 2 p.m. on Pattison Field.
 

2021 Team Leaders	POINTS	GOALS	ASSISTS	SHOTS	SAVES
UPPER IOWA	Martins Soares - 22	Martins Soares - 9	Dunlop - 8	Martins Soares - 37	Alonzo - 20
NORTHWOOD	Skervin - 9	Skervin - 4	Nicholls - 3	Evans - 25	Gjelaj - 83
SAGINAW VALLEY	Walker - 18	Walker - 7	Bruce - 5	Walker - 42	Harley - 40