THIS WEEK IN PEACOCK WOMEN'S SOCCER… The Peacocks begin their 2023 campaign with the GLVC/NSIC Crossover, only this time, they'll be representing the GLVC. Upper Iowa will be hosting the crossover event with home games against Concordia-St. Paul on Friday Sep. 1 at 12 pm and Winona State on Sunday Sep. 3 at 12:00pm. Both of these games will be followed by a neutral site match, as McKendree (who Upper Iowa goes up against later this season) will be playing Winona State on Friday and Concordia-St. Paul on Sunday.

LIVE COVERAGE OPTIONS… Upper Iowa offers numerous ways for you to stay connected to women'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/live. Both links will be included with this story.

ROAD TO REDEMPTION… The Peacocks are coming off a 2-12-4 season that was highlighted by a GLVC/NSIC Crossover event victory in a shutout over Rockhurst. The Peacocks earned yet another shutout victory on the road against Southwest Minnesota State. UIU played Concordia-St. Paul during the middle of their conference schedule last season, where they suffered a 5-1 loss. They concluded the season on the road against Winona State, falling 1-3.

GOALKEEPERS GALORE… Upper Iowa is going to have strength in numbers in goal this season, as they return two goalies who split starting reps in 2022. Sophomore Jamie Kerkvliet made four starts in goal last season, where she recorded a 2-2 record, making 23 saves, including a season-high six in their shutout victory against Rockhurst. She recieved an NSIC Goalkeeper of the Week accolade for her efforts. Fellow goalkeeper Isabelle Wagner started 13 matches for the Peacocks where she led the team with 52 saves over the course of the season, which included a phenomenal ten-save game versus Augustana.

FIELD PHENOMS… In addition to their two goalkeepers, the Peacocks return four other starters from last season. Leading scorer, sophomore forward Rachyl Benavides started all 18 matches in 2022 highlighted by her game winning goal in Upper Iowa's 1-0 victory over Rockhurst. UIU returns two starting midfielders in sophomore Nevaeh James and junior Chloe Jarosz. James recorded the game-tying assist in the final minute against the University of Mary, while Jarosz recorded the game winning assist in Upper Iowa's 1-0 victory over Southwest Minnesota State. Jarosz joins Benavides as the only other player to start every game last season, where she played the full 90-minutes in all but one match. She will be looking to score another goal against Winona State to continue her streak of consecutive goals versus the Warriors. Lastly, UIU returns junior defender and member of Upper Iowa's President's Team, Katrina Kazluski. Kazluski scored the game tying goal against MSU-Moorhead, and both her and teammate Jarosz were named to the 2022 NSIC All-Academic Team of Excellence.

GLVC PRESEASON COACHES' POLL… Upper Iowa was picked to finish thirteenth in the GLVC preseason poll, where they trail Southwest Baptist and rank one ahead of William Jewell. The poll is highlighted by defending conference-tournament champions Maryville, who received eight of the 14 first place votes. The next three teams in the standings all received at least one first place vote. The following were McKendree, reigning regular-season champions Rockhurst (whom the Peacocks beat last season) and Drury.

CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL'S CHALLENGE… Concordia-St. Paul is coming off an eighth-place finish in the NSIC where they recorded a 7-7-5 record, reaching the Quarterfinals of the Conference Tournament. They are highlighted by the return of leading scorer and All-NSIC First Team selection, Katie Anderson. She started all 19 games, scoring seven goals and dishing out two assists. All-NSIC Second Team selection Tori Miller is back for her senior season. Miller played a team high 1,654 minutes, while leading a defensive side that gave up the second-fewest shots on goal in the conference.

WEAPONIZED WINONA STATE… Winona State had a slightly better season than Concordia-St. Paul in 2022, as they came in sixth place in the NSIC, finishing with a record of 9-6-4. They would also reach the Quarterfinals of the Conference tournament, falling to Augustana, which is the same team that Peacocks goalkeeper Wagner recorded ten saves against. Winona State returns two of their best defenders in junior Callie Menzel and senior Hannah Dunlavy, whom both appeared in every game, totaling over 1500 minutes each. Midfielder Reanne Weil is back for her senior year, following a season where she started all but one game and finished third on the team in goals scored with three.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS… Following the GLVC/NSIC Crossover, the Peacocks will hit the road for their first away game against Bemidji State on Friday, Sep. 8 at 7 p.m. They follow that up with a home game versus Minnesota-Crookston on Sunday, Sep. 10 at 12 p.m., before beginning conference play on the road against Truman State the following Sunday Sep. 17 at 2:30 pm.