The Peacocks dropped to the Truman State Bulldogs in the closing seconds by a score of 3-2, with all five goals coming in the second half.
Fifth year
Daigo Adachi nearly gave the Peacocks an early lead, with a ninth minute shot on goal that was saved by Justin Olwig. Senior
Nozomu Kamei added a shot on goal in the 34
th minute, firing a bullet right down the middle, and the Peacocks concluded the half by attempting eight shots, compared to Truman State's one.
UIU was awarded a free kick in the 59
th minute, which saw junior
Emir Basar lob a perfect pass in front of the goal. Adachi slid towards the ball, attempting a shot on goal, which was fielded by senior
Daniel Pranger right at the goal line as he kicked it into the back of the net. With the goal, Pranger becomes the first Peacock to have multiple goals this season which Adachi and Basar are now tied for a team-high two assists on the year.
Luck was on the Bulldogs side later into the second half, as they were able to draw a foul right on the edge of the box to set up a penalty kick in the 68
th minute. Caden Hoehns shot his PK into the left corner of the goal, and while junior keeper
JJ Gonzalez-Hayes dove the right way, he was unable to deflect the shot in time. TSU was then awarded another penalty kick in the 85
th minute on a Peacock handball, and Hoehns converted on the penalty kick to boost Truman State into a 2-1 lead.
By the 88
th minute, the Peacocks were awarded a throw in deep into Truman State's territory. Adachi lobbed his pass towards the net which was deflected off the Bulldogs defense. Senior
Kehinde Afolabi was able to take advantage of his speed to catch up to the ball where his kick soared into the goal to tie the game at 2-2. Nearing the closing seconds of the game, TSU was awarded a corner kick as their shot was deflected out of bounds. Spencer Slayton's pass connected with Jacob Panagos and he headed the pass into the goal with 26 seconds remaining, which gave the Bulldogs a 3-2 win.
Upper Iowa will wrap-up their homestand against the Quincy Hawks this Sunday, Sept. 29 at 2:30 p.m.
