Upper Iowa men's soccer has kicked off the season on the highest possible note following their dominant 5-1 victory over the Saint Ambrose Fighting Bees.

The Peacocks and Saint Ambrose both had a very quiet first half. Sophomore defender Dexter Garrett was all over the field today, attempting three shots on goal in the half but to no success. Saint Ambrose had three good looks on goal as well, but senior goalkeeper Archie Watts saved all three.

Following a laid back first half, the second half was a very chippy matchup almost instantly. Five yellow cards were given within the first ten minutes, with two going to the Peacocks and three going to the Fighting Bees. Saint Ambrose scored first when they were awarded a free kick in the 57^th minute. Junior defender Keaton Johnson made a perfect pass to freshman midfielder Eli Elliott who scored his first collegiate goal. The lead would not last however, as graduate student forward Thomas Walle scored his first career goal in a Peacocks jersey just two minutes later. The goal was assisted by fellow graduate student midfielder Daigo Adachi, which was his first career assist with UIU.

Following the Peacocks first goal of the season, Saint Ambrose junior midfielder Jorge Brizuela picked up his second yellow card, and was ejected from the game. The Peacocks had already stolen momentum following their goal just a minute prior, and they took advantage of this opportunity and did not look back.

Just minutes after Dexter Garrett was called for being offsides on what would have been his first goal of the season, he successfully found the back of the net following a beautiful corner kick from sophomore midfielder David Mateo Porras Rodriguez in the 62^nd minute. Garrett would score once again in the 77^th minute, on Adachi's second assist of the game. Less than two minutes later, last year's leading scorer junior forward Frider Blunck scored his first goal of the season on another assist from Rodriguez. The dominance continued as junior midfielder Kehinde Afolabi, while playing limited minutes off the bench scored the Peacocks final goal in the 85^th minute. Freshman forward Alejandro, also playing limited minutes off the bench recorded his first collegiate assist on Afolabi's goal.

During the Peacock's dominant second half, six yellow cards were given in the final 15 minutes, with three going to each team. A total of six yellow cards were given to Upper Iowa, while seven were given to Saint Ambrose, with two of those going to their coaching staff. Additionally, the Fighting Bees were given the only red card of the game.
Twenty players appeared for the Peacocks, and every single one of them made an impact. Garrett played all 90 minutes, recording five shots on goal with two goals scored. Joining him in the 90-minute club is Watts who recorded four saves and freshman defender Tura Dalu. Blunck played 75 minutes scoring a goal, while both Walle and Afolabi came off the bench and scored as well. Rodriguez recorded 64 minutes with two assists, and he was matched by Adachi's two assists in 59 minutes. Suarez picked up the final assist of the game, making him UIU's only player with an assist off the bench.

The Peacocks will look to continue their success at home this Thursday, Sep. 7 at 6pm against St. Cloud State.