THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK MEN'S SOCCER… The Peacocks begin their 2023 campaign at home against in-state opponent Saint Ambrose this Friday, Sep. 1 at 7:00pm. This will be the first of four straight non-conference home games they will be playing to start the season, which will be followed up by 13 conference matches (six at home, seven on the road).

LIVE COVERAGE OPTIONS… Upper Iowa offers numerous ways for you to stay connected to men's soccer this week. Webcasts for every game can be found through the GLVC website at https://glvcsn.com/uiu/. Live Stats and the Webcast can be found at https://uiupeacocks.com/coverage. Both links will be included with this story.

RETURN TO GLORY?... UIU is coming off a 2-13-2 season, which was highlighted by a 1-0 victory over Colorado Christian at home, before ending the season on a high note with another 1-0 victory over St. Cloud State in their season finale. The Peacocks will be coached by Jason Carlson, who is back for his second season, of his second stint with the Peacocks. During his first four-year tenure with the team, Carlson led Upper Iowa to a 13-4-1 record, claiming the 2015 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Regular Season title. UIU continued their dominance, and made a run all the way to the NCAA Division II Central Region Finals to close out the season.

GLORIFIED GOALIE… The Peacocks return five starters from last season, highlighted by senior goalkeeper, Archie Watts. During the 2022 season, Watts started all 17 matches in goal and recorded 82 saves, including a season high eight saves against Northern Michigan and St. Cloud State. He compiled four shutouts over the course of the season and was named All-GLIAC Honorable Mention.

DEFENSIVE DUO… Joining Watts in the backfield are sophomore defender, Dexter Garrett, and junior defender, Daniel Pranger. Garrett is coming off a season where he started all 16 matches he played in, leading all field players in minutes with 1,432. His season was highlighted by a goal on the road versus Wisconsin-Parkside, as well as an assist against Northern Michigan in Upper Iowa's final home game of the season. Pranger played in every game last season, making 14 total starts. He played a total of 1,278 minutes and was named to the GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team.

FANATIC FORWARDS… UIU also returns two starting forwards in junior, Frider Blunck, and junior, Kehinde Afolabi. Blunck missed four games during the 2022 season, but he was still able to lead the team in total goals scored, while also joining fellow teammate Pranger on the GLIAC-All Academic Excellence Team. Blunck's season was highlighted by a two-goal effort in the conference opener against Northern Michigan. He would also find the back of the net against the exact same team in the Peacock's final home game. Afolabi appeared in 15 games for the Peacocks making 12 starts, scoring his first career goal against Quincy.

GLVC PRESEASON COACHES' POLL… Upper Iowa was picked to finish thirteenth in the GLVC, where they trail William Jewell and rank one spot ahead of Southwest Baptist. The poll is highlighted by defending conference tournament and regular season champions Maryville, who received nine of the 14 first place votes. The next four highest ranked teams all received at least one first place vote. This includes Indianapolis, Illinois Springfield, reigning tournament runners-up Lewis and Drury.

FENDING OFF THE FIGHTING BEES… The St. Ambrose Fighting Bees are coming off a 4-10-2 season, where they finished tenth out of 13 teams in their conference. Star midfielder Jorge Brizuela is back for his senior season, following a 2022 campaign where he led the team in goals scored with four while recording a team high three assists as well. Forward Justin Tackett returns for his senior season after appearing in all but one game for St. Ambrose last year. Leading the defensive line is sophomore defender Lucas Carbognin Pizani. Pizani is one of only two players who appeared in all 16 games last season, while making a team high fourteen starts, scoring one goal.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS… Following their opening game against Saint Ambrose, the Peacocks will be back home for their two contests next week. They will look to beat St. Cloud State for the second straight year on Thursday, Sep. 7 at 6:00pm, before facing off against Mount Mercy on Sunday, Sep. 10 at 1:00pm.