The Upper Iowa men's soccer team pushed past the University of Wisconsin - Parkside with a 3-1 win to claim their third consecutive GLIAC win. The Peacocks improve to 6-3-0 (3-3-0 GLIAC) on the season with the win, while the Rangers fall to a 7-2-1 (4-2 GLIAC) record on the year with the loss.

The Peacocks came out with an aggressive offensive attack as they took the first three shots of the match in the first nine minutes, including a shot on goal from Cain Smith in the seventh minute. Wisconsin-Parkside's first shot was a dangerous one that banged off the right goalpost at the 22:39 mark, and a Ranger was there on the rebound to send another dangerous attempt toward the UIU goal that Osvaldo Alonzo was able to save. Upper Iowa countered and earned a pair of corner kicks in the 27th and 29th minutes, and Alan Dunlop lofted a ball to the far side of the box on the second kick that Stan Cargill was able to head in to give UIU a 1-0 lead at the 28:55 mark.

Carson Cajuste recorded the next shot attempt in the 31st minute that forced a save from UWP, and Parkside followed that with a shot on goal in the 33rd minute that Alonzo saved. Cargill recorded a shot in the 34th minute before a shot on goal in the 37th minute that had to be saved, and Wisconsin-Parkside countered with a dangerous attack in the 40th minute that saw Alonzo make a brilliant save on the first shot before bouncing back up to record another impressive save on a follow-up shot to keep the visitors scoreless. Parkside earned a corner kick in the 45th minute as they looked to sneak a score across before halftime, but the UIU defense held firm and took their 1-0 lead into the second period.

Wisconsin-Parkside looked to turn the tide early in the second half as they took two shots within the first three minutes of the period, but both attempts were off target. The Peacocks put a shot on goal at the 50:58 mark, but Parkside continued their aggressive push with a flurry of action that saw them take three shots and two corner kicks from the 54:21 mark to the 55:44 mark. Alonzo recorded a save on the lone shot on goal during that period, and the Peacocks thwarted the offensive push of the Rangers.

Upper Iowa's next shot came in the 64th minute after Italo Martins Soares got the ball with room to run at midfield before making a nice pass to Cargill, who galloped through the Parkside half of the pitch before playing a beautiful ball to Duarte Fonte, who notched a goal that doubled UIU's lead to 2-0 at the 63:03 mark. Each team had attempts at corner kicks over the next few minutes that were unfruitful, and the play got chippy as each squad was issued a yellow card and Wisconsin-Parkside was given a red card.

Following the red card, the Peacocks were whistled for a foul in the box that gave the Rangers a penalty kick. The PK found the back of the net as Parkside was able to cut their deficit to 2-1 at the 70:38 mark. Upper Iowa looked to keep their lead and continue to apply the offensive pressure by earning a corner kick in the 74th minute that led to a pair of shots from Martins Soares that were blocked, and Martins Soares would take a third consecutive shot in the 77th minute that was off target.

The next shot of the match came at the 79:09 mark, and it would give the Peacocks a 3-1 lead as Martins Soares' fourth consecutive shot proved to be the charm after another assist from Dunlop. Neither team put a shot on goal before the end of the match as Upper Iowa clinched its third conference win in a row by defeating Wisconsin-Parkside by a score of 3-1.

PEACOCKS OF THE GAME... 

• Stan Cargill got the scoring going and gave Upper Iowa a 1-0 lead with his header in the 29th minute. Cargill also recorded an assist on Fonte's goal to put UIU up by two in the second period. The forward finished second on the team with four shots in his 89 minutes, and his two shots on goal tied for a match-high.
• Duarte Fonte's first goal of the season doubled the Peacock lead to 2-0 in the 64th minute. Fonte provided a spark off the bench in his 22 minutes of action as he put both of his shots on goal to tie for the match-high.
• Italo Martins Soares put the match out of reach to secure a 3-1 win for Upper Iowa with his goal in the 80th minute. Martins Soares also picked up an assist on Fonte's score, and the forward led the match with six shots in his 88 minutes of action.
• Alan Dunlop dished out two assists for the Peacocks as his passing put UIU up 1-0 and helped ice the match on their third goal. Dunlop's seven assists rank second in the GLIAC, and he has recorded an assist in all but two of UIU's nine matches. The defender also helped Upper Iowa neutralize the Parkside offensive attack in his 88 minutes of play.
• Midfielder Cain Smith impacted both sides of the ball as he played full time for UIU and put a shot on goal.
• Defender Martin Voll helped the Peacock defense limit the Ranger opportunities as he played the entire match.
• Osvaldo Alonzo saved five shots for Upper Iowa, and the only goal he allowed came on a Parkside penalty kick. The goalkeeper also made a number of strong defensive plays to thwart Ranger attacks and help UIU secure its third straight win in his third straight start.

STATS OF THE GAME...

• The Peacocks finished with a 15-14 shot advantage that included an 8-5 margin in the first half and a 7-6 advantage in shots on goal in the match.
• Upper Iowa earned six corner kicks compared to five for Parkside, and UIU was able to turn one of their corners into the go-ahead goal.
• UIU was issued two yellow cards compared to one for UWP, but the Rangers were called for four more fouls (14-10) and received the lone red card of the match.

UP NEXT... The Peacocks are scheduled to play a reserve match on Wednesday, Oct. 6, against Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, before seeing St. Cloud State University on Saturday, Oct. 9 in St. Cloud, Minn. for a GLIAC match at 3 p.m.