The Upper Iowa men's soccer team secured their second win in as many tries in a 2-1 victory over Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo. The Peacocks improve to 2-0 on the young season while the Bulldogs fall to 0-1 to start their year.
Truman State was aggressive from the start as they earned a corner kick on the opening possession and tallied three shots and three corners before UIU's first shot attempt at the 3:50 mark. The Peacocks were able to flip the script as they took four shots and earned three corners of their own in the next four minutes, culminating with a goal put in by senior
Tate Lofdahl at the 7:52 mark. Lofdahl's first shot in the sixth minute was UIU's first shot on goal and was saved by the Bulldogs, but the senior forward converted on his next attempt off an assist from senior
Alan Dunlop to give Upper Iowa the 1-0 lead.
A yellow card on UIU's
Erick Lopez just outside the UIU box gave the Bulldogs an opportunity to tie the score at 1-1 that they did not miss. Sam Newton put the free kick into the high right side of the net to score the first Truman State goal in the 38th minute. Neither squad was able to take the lead in the next seven minutes they took a tie game into the half. The teams each registered nine shots in the first half as the Bulldogs had three shots (33.3%) on goal while the Peacocks had two (22.2%).
Alejo Prieto secured two saves for UIU in the first frame while Truman's Evan Witte saved one.
Lopez made the first dangerous attack of the second half in the 50th minute as he sliced his way into the Bulldog box and took a good rip on a shot that was saved before having another good-looking rebound shot blocked as the Truman defense held firm. Neither team created much pressure until a UIU turnover led to a Bulldog breakaway that ended in a diving save from Prieto on a long shot from Truman. After the UIU defensive stop,
Italo Martins Soares secured a long outlet assist from
Iver Nesset and turned on the jets to beat a Bulldog defender and send a shot into the left corner of the goal that gave UIU a 2-1 lead in the 63rd minute.
The rest of the match was physical as Truman State picked up four yellow cards and a red card while Upper Iowa was charged with two yellows. The Peacocks kept control and picked their spots as both their shot attempts after Martins Soares' goal were on target and the Bulldogs were unable to knot it up as the lone shot of their three that was on goal was saved by Prieto and the Peacocks held on to secure the 2-1 victory and a sweep of their Missouri road trip.
PEACOCKS OF THE GAME...
- Tate Lofdahl scored the match's first goal and was one for three (33%) with two shots on goal in the first half.
- Italo Martins Soares scored the game-winning goal and went one for two (50%) on shot attempts.
- Freshman GK Alejo Prieto saved four of the five shots on goal that he faced.
- Alan Dunlop recorded his second assist of the weekend and leads UIU in that category through two games.
STATS OF THE GAME...
- The teams were tied at 14 shots apiece, but UIU's six to five advantage in shots on goal proved to be a difference-maker.
- Both teams had four saves, but UIU saved four of five (80%) shots on goal while Truman saved four of six (66.7%).
- The Peacocks earned one more corner (8) than the Bulldogs (7).
- UIU seemed to be more disciplined as they committed only six fouls compared to Truman State's 10.
COACH'S QUOTES... "Today's win was great for the boys as we had to find a way to win and dig deep even when we weren't playing our best soccer at times. We'll address those issues and be better moving forward.
Tate and Italo fully deserved their goals today and both are showing the difference they can make on the field while proving their loyalty to the Peacocks by coming back to play again. They want to win and they produce an infectious energy when they are at their best.
The group is coming along and still getting to know each other each time we play. It is a great testament to the players, and the coaches, that we have these results on the board right now with so many new players in the line up. We know there is still a long season ahead of us and we'll take each game as it comes." - Head Coach,
Willie McGowan
UP NEXT... Upper Iowa is set to play their home opener versus Drury University on Pattison Field in Fayette on Friday, Sep. 10 at 2:00 p.m. Fans can cheer on the Peacocks from the stands or follow along via webcast and live stats at UIUPeacocks.com/LIVE.
