THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK MEN'S SOCCER… The Upper Iowa University men's soccer team hits the road for the final time during the 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 1 p.m. CST.

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 Wisconsin-Parkside and Northern Michigan will be available through the links included with this story and at UIUPeacocks.com/LIVE. Wisconsin-Parkside's webcast requires pay-per-view access, but Northern Michigan's webcast will be available free of charge.

UIU GOES UNDEFEATED IN MICH. MATCHUPS... The Peacocks were undefeated in a pair of matches in Michigan over the weekend. Upper Iowa secured their fourth shutout of the season with a 2-0 win over Northwood University in Midland, Mich. on Friday before playing Saginaw Valley State University to a tie in Saginaw, Mich. on Sunday.

Against Northwood, the Peacocks looked dominant as they took the first 14 shots of the match and out-shot the Timberwolves by a 15-1 margin in the first period. However, the score remained 0-0 at the half, and it wasn't until a connection from Marcus DeLeon to Tate Lofdahl to Stan Cargill in the 68th minute that UIU was able to take the 1-0 lead after Cargill put a ball into the back of the net. In the 86th minute, Italo Martins Soares sliced through the NU defense and got a pass to Cain Smith deep in the NU box before Smith tapped the ball back to Martins Soares, who doubled the UIU lead to 2-0 before full time. The Peacocks out-shot the Timberwolves by a 25-6 margin that included an 11-1 advantage in shots on goal, and seven different Peacocks took at least two shots in the match.

Against Saginaw Valley State, Martins Soares assisted Frider Blunck on his first goal of the season to give the Peacocks a 1-0 lead at the 35:52 mark. SVSU would notch the next score as their goal at the 67:56 mark tied the match at 1-1. The teams traded shots for the next 22 minutes, but the score stayed knotted at one goal apiece through full time despite Upper Iowa getting two more shots on goal. In extra time, neither team was able to put a shot on goal through the first ten minutes as the first overtime period came to a close. In the second overtime, the Peacocks came out strong in the second overtime as Cain Smith took a shot just 53 seconds in, but the attempt sailed high. UIU kept the pressure on with a corner kick in the 103rd minute, but the Upper Iowa offense was unable to convert. SVSU missed a shot in the 106th minute, and they had a dangerous pair of attacks late in the period as they earned corner kicks in the 108th and 109th minutes. The second corner led to a shot on goal from SVSU, but Osvaldo Alonzo was able to make a save and prevent the golden goal. The Cardinals took a last-ditch shot in the final seconds of the overtime period, but the score remained 1-1 through 110 minutes of play as the teams finished with a tie.

WHO'S PACING THE PEACOCKS... Italo Martins Soares leads the Peacocks in points (25) and goals (10), ranking second in the GLIAC in each category. The forward has recorded a point in ten consecutive matches, and he has notched a goal in eight of the last ten contests. Martins Soares (5) ranks third on the team in assists, and Alan Dunlop (8) leads the Peacocks in dimes while tying for second in the conference. Dunlop's eight assists are tied for the tenth-best mark in NCAA Division II. Stan Cargill ranks second on the Peacocks in goals (7), points (16), and shots (31), and he has dished out a pair of assists. Tate Lofdahl saw a four-match assist streak end against SVSU, and the forward had recorded ten points over the four-game stretch. Lofdahl ranks second in assists with six and third in both goals (4) and points (14), and his 14 shots on goal in 21 attempts make for a .762 SOG percentage that leads GLIAC players who have taken more than six shots by nearly 100 points. Cain Smith has tallied nine points thanks to three goals and three assists, and he has started all 14 games for UIU while playing all but 12 of their 1280 possible minutes. Martin Voll has also started each of UIU's dozen games, and the freshman defender had played every minute of every match prior to playing 100 of the 110 possible minutes against SVSU. Voll has also added a goal and an assist. Goalkeeper Osvaldo Alonzo leads Upper Iowa with 26 saves and a .684 save percentage. UIU has recorded two shutouts and holds a record of 5-2-1 with Alonzo in goal.

UIU BY THE NUMBERS... The Peacocks have outscored their opponents by a 30-22 margin this season en route to their 8-5-1 (5-5-1 GLIAC) record. UIU has out-shot its opponents 204-148, which includes an 85-60 margin in shots on goal. Upper Iowa's 24 goals in GLIAC contests lead the conference, and their 30 overall goals are tied for the second-best total. UIU's 2.18 goals per game in conference play rank first, and their 2.14 goals per game overall rank second in the GLIAC. Six of the eight UIU wins have been by two or more goals, but three of the five UIU losses have been by two or more goals. Their shutout against NMU was their fourth of the season, tying for the GLIAC-high in that category. After their undefeated road trip, the Peacocks are 4-2-1 (2-2-1 GLIAC) on the road this season.

PREPPING FOR THE POSTSEASON... With just three games remaining in their regular season, the Peacocks are in a strong position to make an appearance in the GLIAC Men's Soccer Tournament. The top six squads in the eight-team conference make it into the postseason, and the Peacocks currently rank fifth. UIU has earned 16 points thanks to five wins and one tie in conference play, and they sit just two points behind both Purdue-Northwest (6-3 GLIAC) and Saginaw Valley State (5-3-3 GLIAC). Northern Michigan (3-6-2 GLIAC) is sitting in the sixth spot behind Upper Iowa with 11 points. Northwood (10 points, 3-7-1 GLIAC) and St. Cloud State (9 points, 3-8 GLIAC) round out the conference standings.

READYING FOR THE RANGERS, PT. 2... The University of Wisconsin - Parkside comes into their matchup against the Peacocks with a record of 10-3-2 (7-3-1 GLIAC) on the season. The Rangers are on a GLIAC-best three-match winning streak in which they have outscored their opponents by a 9-1 margin after a 5-1 win against Northwood University and a pair of shutouts over Purdue University - Northwest and Davenport University. Despite being out-shot 206-189, Parkside has outscored its opponents 38-21 and holds a 100-78 advantage in shots on goal. The Parkside offense is led by All-GLIAC first-team forward Rade Novakovich. Novakovich's 15 goals are tied for the most in NCAA DII, while his 38 points lead all NCAA DII players. Novakovich's eight assists are only second to his teammate, Max Ludwig, who leads the GLIAC and ranks third in NCAA DII with 11 assists. Goalkeeper Alexandre Durand ranks second in the GLIAC with 44 saves. Parkside was voted to finish second (three first-place votes) in the 2021 GLIAC Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll following a 6-3 (6-2 GLIAC) record last season, and the Rangers are currently sitting in second, just half a game behind Davenport for the top spot. UWP is 5-3 all-time against UIU, but the Peacocks claimed an impressive 3-1 victory over the Rangers earlier this season on Oct. 3 in Fayette.

WITHSTANDING THE WILDCATS, PT. 2... Northern Michigan University enters the weekend with a record of 3-8-3 (3-6-2 GLIAC). The Wildcats are 2-2-1 in their last five matches following a 1-6-2 start to the season, and they are coming off a weekend in which they lost 2-0 against Davenport before beating Purdue-Northwest 1-0. Northern Michigan has scored a GLIAC-low eight goals this season while allowing 20. NMU has been out-shot 200-151, including a 76-57 shots on goal margin. Ryan Palmbaum ranks second in the GLIAC with 48 shots, and his two goals and five points are tied for the NMU lead with Brady Kronenburg. Goalkeeper Alex Weaver has been in goal for the three NMU shutout wins and leads the team with 32 saves and a 1.41 goals against average. Northern Michigan was picked to finish fifth in the 2021 GLIAC Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll following a 4-3-1 (4-3 GLIAC) record last season, and the Wildcats are currently one spot behind UIU in sixth in the eight-team standings. Northern Michigan is 3-2 all-time against Upper Iowa, but the Peacocks claimed a 3-0 win over the Wildcats earlier this season on Oct. 1 in Fayette. The Wildcats are scheduled to face St. Cloud State prior to their matchup with the Peacocks.

LOOKING AHEAD… The Peacocks will conclude their 2021 campaign 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 - 25	Martins Soares - 10	Dunlop - 8	Martins Soares - 46	Alonzo - 26
WISC.-PARKSIDE	Novakovich - 38	Novakovich - 15	Ludwig - 11	Novakovich - 54	Durand - 44
NORTHERN MICH.	Palmbaum/Kronenburg - 5	Palmbaum/Kronenburg - 2	Kurz - 2	Palmbaum - 48	Weaver - 32