The Upper Iowa University women's soccer team dropped a competitive match against Augustana University after a pair of Viking goals in the final minutes gave the home team a 2-0 win in Sioux Falls. The Peacocks fall to 7-8 (5-8 NSIC) on the year while the Vikings improve to 11-3-2 (10-1-2 NSIC).
Upper Iowa's
Liv Wildeman took the first shot of the half at the 1:11 mark and forced the Augustana goalkeeper to make a nice save on a shot to the upper left corner of the goal. The Vikings took two off-target shots before
Alex Garcia put UIU's second shot on target, but Augustana saved her attempt as well.
The Peacocks withstood a stretch from the 6:48 to 7:15 marks that saw AUGIE take back-to-back corner kicks before putting a shot on goal, but
Natalie Rudrud secured a save, and the UIU defense held firm. Upper Iowa put together a similar offensive stretch in the 21st minute as they earned a corner kick that resulted in a shot on goal from
Credence White that was knocked out of bounds by the Vikings. On the ensuing corner kick in the 22nd minute,
Katrina Kazluski put a shot on goal that was once again saved out of bounds by AUGIE. The Peacocks could not convert on the third consecutive corner kick, coming away empty-handed after the dangerous stretch of three corners and two shots on goal.
The first half ended without a goal from either team as both the Peacocks and Vikings finished with seven shots in the period. Upper Iowa placed four of their seven shots on goal, while Augustana saw three of their shots put on target. UIU also finished the first half with a 4-3 advantage in corner kicks, but neither team could convert offensively.
In the second period, the Vikings took the first shot at the 49:09 mark and put it on goal, but Rudrud was there to make the save. A nearly identical shot from Augustana was saved by Rudrud on the next Viking attack at the 51:12 mark, and the Peacock defense continued to hold firm. Neither team took a shot until the Vikings had an off-target attempt in the 68th minute, and the Peacocks responded to that attack with a strong one of their own.
Upper Iowa earned a corner kick midway through the 69th minute, and
Grace Birdsley came up with the ball after the kick to put a shot on goal that was blocked by the AUGIE defense. The four shot attempts came from Vikings, but all of their attempts were off target aside from an attempt in the 77th minute that Rudrud was able to save once again.
After the Peacocks thwarted an Augustana corner kick in the 79th minute,
Jordan Zarate came up will the ball around midfield and skied a long, high pass to a streaking
Haley Ramberg after the forward got behind most of the Viking defense. Ramberg secured the ball and had a one-on-one situation against an Augustana defender from just inside the box, and she made a nice cut to her right that opened just enough room to rip a shot toward the goal. Despite the good look, Ramberg's shot sliced just wide to the right as the Peacocks were unable to convert.
In the 82nd minute, the Vikings made an attack that saw their leading scorer put a pair of shots on goal in short order, but Rudrud secured saves on each attempt to maintain her clean sheet. On the UIU counterattack, Ramberg found herself with the ball on the right side of the AUGIE goal, and she made a nice pass toward the middle of the box that found
Adalina Harsch for a shot attempt, but the Viking defense blocked the shot.
The first goal of the match came at the 84:50 mark after Augustana played a ball from the right corner that bounced across the face of the net and found a Viking on the left side of the box who put in the go-ahead goal. The next shot would also come from a Viking at the 86:44 mark, but the off-target attempt led to an Upper Iowa goal kick. The goal kick was controlled by the Vikings, and they immediately passed the ball around in the box to find an open player, quickly doubling their lead to 2-0 at the 87:08 mark. The score remained 2-0 at full time as the two scores in the final 5:10 of the match gave the Vikings the victory.
PEACOCKS OF THE GAME...
STATS OF THE GAME...
- The teams tied for shots in the first half with seven, but the Peacocks held a 4-3 advantage in both shots on goal and corner kicks through the first 45 minutes. In the second half, the Vikings claimed a 12-3 shot advantage that included a 7-0 margin in shots on goal and a 2-1 advantage in corner kicks.
UP NEXT... The Peacocks return to Fayette and welcome Wayne State College to Pattison Field on Sunday, Oct. 31 at 12 p.m. The Peacocks will be celebrating a quartet of seniors prior to Sunday's contest.
