THIS WEEKEND IN PEACOCK MEN'S SOCCER… Upper Iowa men's soccer is set to welcome fans back to the stands for the first time this fall as they play their home opener against Drury University on Pattison Field in Fayette on Friday, Sep. 10 at 2:00 p.m.

LIVE COVERAGE OPTIONS… Live stats and a webcast for the match will be available through the links at UIUPeacocks.com/LIVE and included with this story. The contest will also stream live on the new NSIC Network app through Roku and Fire devices, as well as Apple and Android TV. Search for "NSIC Network" to find the app on your relevant device. Locally, the match is scheduled to be broadcast on KCRG-TV 9.2.

DIGITAL GAMEDAY PROGRAM… Upper Iowa will not be printing gameday programs this season. Fans can access the interactive and digital gameday program at any time at UIUPeacocks.com/Programs. The digital programs are available to fans both at our games and those at home listening to or watching the action. QR Codes will also be located around the field to scan with your cell phone's camera that will link you directly to that game's specific digital gameday program.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED IN MISSOURI… The Peacocks opened their season with a pair of matches in Missouri and came away with a perfect 2-0 record after their first weekend of play. UIU kicked off their 2021 campaign against the University of Missouri - St. Louis on Sep. 3 and claimed a 3-0 shutout victory after 90 minutes of play. The victory marked their first win since the 2018 season and gave them a 1-0 record for the first time since the 2017 campaign. Goals by Stan Cargill ('45), Tate Lofdahl ('76), and Italo Martins Soares ('90) combined with three saves from freshman goalkeeper Alejo Prieto secured UIU's biggest shutout-win since 2015. The Peacocks faced Truman State University in their second match of the season and notched a 2-1 victory after full time. UIU withstood an aggressive attack and countered with a go-ahead goal from Lofdahl at the 7:52 mark. The Bulldogs scored late in the first half after a yellow card against UIU to tie the game at 1-1, but Martins Soares took a nice pass from Iver Nesset and knocked in the game-winning goal in the 63rd minute as the Peacocks would hold on to win by a score of 2-1 and improve to a 2-0 record.

VENERABLE PEACOCK VETERANS... Seniors Tate Lofdahl and Italo Martins Soares have paced the Peacocks thus far as they have both scored a goal in each of UIU's matches. Lofdahl doubled Upper Iowa's lead in their season-opening match versus UMSL in the 76th minute before Martins Soares tacked on another goal in the 90th minute of the 3-0 win. In UIU's second match, Lofdal scored the go-ahead goal in the first half before Martins Soares again scored the final goal of a match, this time putting in the eventual game-winner in the 63rd minute. Another pair of Peacock upperclassmen have made an impact as junior Stan Cargill scored the go-ahead and game-winning goal against UMSL and senior Alan Dunlop leads the team in assists after recording one on each of UIU's opening scores of each match.

FRESHMAN FORTRESS... Freshman goalkeeper Alejo Prieto has made an immediate impact for the Peacocks in his first two collegiate contests. The Houston, Texas native has started both matches and played full time while tallying seven saves after three in the first game and four in the second. Prieto has allowed just one goal across the two matches despite facing 22 shots and has recorded a .875 save percentage and one shutout thus far.

RECORD-SETTING MARTINS SOARES... Italo Martins Soares (17) has broken a tie with Leandro Pena (15) and moved into the top five Peacocks in career goals scored as members of the blue and white. The senior forward has a shot at moving into the top three all-time by the end of the season as Ryan Pinkerton (22) and Joey Gray (23) are ahead of him. The Brasília, Brazil native scored a career-high seven goals in his freshman campaign in 2017 and is off to a scalding start in 2021 with two goals in two matches. Craig Signorin scored 30 goals for Upper Iowa from 2005-08, and Derek Oelmann holds the record for most goals by a Peacock with an impressive 40 from 2008-11.

PREPARING FOR THE PANTHERS... The Panthers are still looking for their first win of the fall after dropping a pair of matches to two ranked opponents. Drury fell by a score of 1-0 against #19 Northeastern State University to open their season before falling by a score of 3-2 against #11 West Texas A&M University. Drury allowed a goal in the first minute of their first match and second minute of their second match as they have yet to take a lead this season. The Panthers returned last year's GLVC Freshman of the Year, Jayd Hamdaoua, who was the fourth-leading scorer in the league last year with seven goals. Hamdaoua leads the Panthers with four shots but has yet to connect for a goal. Senior Joshua Lewis-Evans and freshman Jacob Schmidt are tied for the team lead with one goal apiece, and senior goalkeeper Yannick Lamers leads the team with 10 saves and a .714 save percentage. The Drury men's soccer team was picked to finished eighth in the Great Lakes Valley Conference in a vote of league coaches in their annual preseason poll following a 7-7 record last season.

LOOKING AHEAD… The Peacocks will stay in Iowa to play a pair of reserve matches on Sep. 12 and 15 in Decorah and Fayette, respectively, before opening conference play against Purdue University - Northwest in Hammond, Ind. on Friday, Sep. 17 at 2 p.m.
 

2021 Team Leaders	POINTS	GOALS	ASSISTS	SHOTS	SAVES
UPPER IOWA	Martins Soares/Lofdahl - 4	Martins Soares/Lofdahl - 2	Dunlop - 2	Martins Soares/Cargill - 5	Prieto - 7
DRURY	Lewis-Evans/Schmidt - 2	Lewis-Evans/Schmidt - 1	N/A	Hamdaoua - 4	Lamers - 10