THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK MEN'S SOCCER… The Upper Iowa men's soccer program is prepared to play a pair of matches against GLIAC foes as they start their conference schedule. The Peacocks will play Purdue University-Northwest on Friday, Sep. 17 at 2 p.m. in Hammond, Ind. before facing Davenport University on Sunday, Sep. 19 at 2 p.m. in Grand Rapids, 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 Purdue-Northwest and Davenport will be available through the links in this story and at UIUPeacocks.com/LIVE.

DISPATCHING DRURY… In their last time out, the Peacocks defended their home pitch against Drury University as they claimed a 1-0 victory on Pattison Field in Fayette. The score remained 0-0 through the first half after some back-and-forth play prevented either team from getting into much of an offensive rhythm. The Peacock offense looked more cohesive than the Drury attack through the first 45 minutes as they kept the pressure on and earned a 6-2 shot advantage. In the second half, Upper Iowa turned up their offensive pressure and secured a 7-1 advantage in shots taken. Three of UIU's shots were on goal and one of them resulted in the game-winning goal as Stan Cargill put in a shot from just outside the goal to claim a 1-0 lead in the 71st minute. The deciding goal came after a nice long ball off the foot of senior Cain Smith that was played beautifully by freshman Daniel Pranger as the Drury goalkeeper came out to challenge Pranger and allowed him to set up Cargill for the goal. The Panthers tried to rally and tie the match before full time, but they were unable to put any shots on goal despite some late opportunities as UIU held on for the 1-0 shutout.

NO-NO'S FOR PRIETO... Freshman goalkeeper Alejo Prieto has put up two no-no's in the first three matches after securing his second shutout win against Drury. The freshman goalkeeper did not record any saves against the Panthers, but he made some great defensive plays and put his body on the line in some big collisions that broke up scoring opportunities for Drury. The Houston, Texas native has started all three contests and played full time while tallying seven saves after three in the first match and four in the second. Prieto has allowed just one goal across the three matches despite facing 25 shots, and his .875 save percentage and 0.33 goals against average are tops in the GLIAC among starting goalkeepers.

UIU RANKED IN THE REGION... Upper Iowa has now been ranked in the NCAA DII Men's United Soccer Coaches' Top 25 Poll for the Midwest Region for the second time in as many weeks. The Peacocks were ranked ninth in the season's first edition of the poll after their 2-0 start, and UIU moved up a spot to eighth in the second poll after moving to 3-0. This is the first time that Upper Iowa has received votes and has been ranked since 2017. The Peacocks were ranked 22nd in the NCAA DII Men's United Soccer Coaches' Top 25 National Poll in the first week of the poll that year and were ranked 12th in week two following a 3-0 start. This year's squad is the first to start 3-0 since that 2017 team.

FIGHTING FOR FOUR... The Peacocks will be going for their fourth straight win to open the season when they face the Pride. Upper Iowa last started a season with a 4-0 record in 2015 when they stayed undefeated through their first eight matches after a 4-0 start before a tie and three more wins had them sitting with a 7-0-1 record. The 2015 Upper Iowa squad finished with a program-best record of 13-4-1.

PREPARING FOR THE PRIDE... Purdue-Northwest comes into their matchup against UIU with a 1-2 record. The Pride dropped a pair of matches decided by one goal to open their season as they fell 3-2 versus Lewis University and 2-1 against Quincy University before winning by one goal in a 2-1 win over the University of Findlay in their last match. Purdue-Northwest has only been outscored by one goal and out-shot by five (32-27), but they have allowed 18 shots on goal (.563 SOG percentage) while only putting 10 of their shots on target (.370 SOG percentage). The Pride have been given twice as many yellow cards as their opponents (8-4) and have been called for 54 fouls compared to 31 by opposing teams, so the Peacocks may need to be ready for a physical contest. Senior midfielder Isaiah Nieves paces the Pride attack with seven points, three assists, and eight shots, and is tied for the team lead with two goals after leading the team in scoring last season. Purdue-Northwest was voted to finish fourth out of eight teams in the GLIAC Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Pride hold a 2-0-1 record all-time against UIU and claimed a 3-2 win in their last meeting on Mar. 6, 2021, in Hammond, Ind. The Peacocks started hot and held a 2-0 lead by the 47th minute after a goal from Alan Dunlop added to a Cargill score in the 17th minute, but PNW scores at the 61:13 and 63:12 marks tied the match before a game-winning goal in the 73rd minute gave the Pride the win in the teams' season-opening match.

PREPARING FOR THE PANTHERS... Davenport started their season with an 0-3 record following three one-goal losses. The Panthers fell by a score of 3-2 against the University of Illinois Springfield, dropped a 2-1 match against No. 9 Maryville University, and saw the University of Southern Indiana rally from a 3-1 deficit to claim a 4-3 win over Davenport in overtime. The Panthers have been outscored by three and out-shot by eight (49-41), but they have put an even number of shots on target as their opponents. Davenport has been issued eight yellow cards and two reds compared to three yellows and one red from their opponents and has 40 fouls compared to 26 opposing fouls, so both matches may be physical for UIU. Junior forward Justice Sikkema leads the Panthers with 12 shots, and his two goals are tied for the team lead with senior midfielder Evan Marquess; who leads the team in assists and points. Davenport was picked to finish third out of eight teams in the GLIAC Men's Soccer Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Panthers hold a 3-0 record against the Peacocks all time, and they claimed a 2-0 win in the last matchup on Mar. 27, 2021, in Fayette. Davenport is scheduled to play a match against St. Cloud State University before facing the Peacocks.

LOOKING AHEAD… The Peacocks will return to Fayette to play a reserve match on Sep. 22 before staying home to continue conference play against the reigning GLIAC regular-season champion Saginaw Valley State University on Friday, Sep. 24 at 1 p.m. and against Northwood University on Sunday, Sep. 26 at 12 p.m.
 

2021 Team Leaders	POINTS	GOALS	ASSISTS	SHOTS	SAVES
UPPER IOWA	Three tied w/ - 4	Three tied w/ - 2	Dunlop - 2	Martins Soares - 8	Prieto - 7
PURDUE-NW	Nieves - 7	Nieves/Moran  - 2	Nieves - 3	Nieves - 8	Garrido Garcia - 10
DAVENPORT	Marquess - 6	Marquess/Sikkema - 2	Marquess - 2	Sikkema - 12	Lee - 9