The Upper Iowa men's soccer team dropped a 3-2 decision against Davenport University despite holding the lead early in each half. The loss drops the Peacocks to 3-2 (0-2 GLIAC) on the season while the Panthers improve to 2-3 (2-0 GLIAC) on the year.
The Peacocks jumped out to an early 1-0 lead thanks to a nifty goal from
Italo Martins Soares at the 1:45 mark. After receiving a give-and-go pass from Martins Soares,
Paal Vistnes played a nice ball into the box that Martins Soares was able to get a touch on off the back of his heel despite facing away from the goal to claim the early lead.
Tate Lofdahl had a chance to double the UIU lead early in the fourth minute, but his shot was saved by the Panther goalkeeper. Davenport evened the score in the 19th minute on a header that bounced over a leaping
Alejo Prieto as the UIU goalkeeper was unable to deflect DU's first shot on goal. The score stayed tied at 1-1 for the remainder of the first half despite UIU holding a 7-2 advantage in shots, with each team putting two shots on goal.
Upper Iowa reclaimed the lead early in the second period as
Marcus DeLeon put a shot past the goalkeeper into the upper left corner in the 55th minute following an assist from Martins Soares. Davenport was able to come up with an answer for the second time in the match, this time tying the score at 2-2 at the 59:20 mark after cleaning up a deflected pass.
Carson Cajuste had an immediate opportunity to retake the lead at the 60:58 mark, but his shot hit the crossbar. Martins Soares took Upper Iowa's next promising attempt in the 76th minute, but his shot bounced off the right goalpost. Davenport was fouled on a counterattack after the miss and took advantage as they crossed the ball into the box and headed in the go-ahead goal in the 79th minute.
Frider Blunck put a shot on goal in the 80th minute as UIU looked to tie the score, but the attempt was saved and was Upper Iowa's final shot in the 3-2 defeat.
PEACOCKS OF THE GAME...
- Italo Martins Soares put the Peacocks ahead early as his team-leading third goal of the season came in the second minute. The senior also added an assist while tying for the UIU lead with three shots.
- Marcus DeLeon's first goal of his college career gave Upper Iowa a 2-1 lead in the second half. DeLeon tied for the match-lead with three shots.
- Paal Vistnes assisted the match's opening goal while also playing the full 90 minutes for the UIU defense.
STATS OF THE GAME...
- Upper Iowa took 13 shots compared to just five by Davenport, but the teams were tied with four shots on goal apiece as the Panthers converted a higher percentage of their chances.
- UIU committed only five fouls compared to 11 from DU, and Davenport was whistled for three offsides penalties compared to none from UIU.
- The Peacocks earned six corner kicks while allowing just two.
COACH'S QUOTES... "The lads played really well today and bounced back with a positive performance after Friday's game. We started strong and, when in possession of the ball, we were patient at times and created a number of good scoring opportunities. Out-shooting a team of Davenport's quality shows the progress this young team has made in bridging the gap with a top GLIAC opponet when we play at our best. The signs are there for us to compete and win a few games in this conference based off of today. We've got two tough games in Fayette this weekend and I fully expect the team to be hungry to showcase their talents at home." - Head Coach,
Willie McGowan
UP NEXT... The Peacocks return to Fayette for a four-game homestand starting with a match against the reigning GLIAC regular-season champions, Saginaw Valley State University, on Friday, Sep. 24 at 1 p.m. before facing Northwood University on Sunday, Sep. 26 at 12 p.m.
