Upper Iowa opened the season with a 2-2 tie on their home field against the Roosevelt Lakers.
Both teams duked it out in a hard fought first half which ended with both teams tied at zero. Roosevelt recorded the first shot of the game which sailed over the goal in the 15
th minute and followed it up with a shot that barely missed the post a few minutes later. Junior
JJ Gonzalez-Hayes recorded his first save of the game right before time expired, ending the half.
Roosevelt opened the second half with three shots that were unable to find the net. In his debut with the Peacocks, junior
Emir Basar outran his defender down the right side of the field and fired a strike on goal that was saved by Lakers goalkeeper, Eric Carvajal. Four minutes later, senior
Daniel Pranger lobbed a deep ball that Basar fielded on the run. He sprinted down the right side once again, and made a perfect cross down the center of the field to junior
Fabio Bender, who attempted a sliding shot on goal that found the back of the net in the 64
th minute, giving the Peacocks a 1-0 lead.
Following the Peacocks first goal of the season, Roosevelt found themselves with an opportunity to tie the game as they were awarded a free kick from right outside the box. Luca Swinton's shot on goal found the top right corner of the net and the Lakers were able to tie the game in the 74
th minute. They took advantage of another free kick opportunity in the 83
rd minute as Nick Killian's lob pass was headed in by Oskar Schuster to put Roosevelt in the lead.
JJ Gonzalez-Hayes recorded a two-handed save in the 87
th minute and Upper Iowa found themselves with one last chance to tie the game when they were awarded a throw-in in the 89
th minute deep in Roosevelt's territory. Fifth-year
Daigo Adachi launched his pass into the box, which was headed toward the right corner of the goal by junior
Florian Deick and kicked in by Pranger to tie the game at 2-2 before time would expire just a minute later.
The Peacocks will be back in action with a neutral site matchup against Fort Hays State in Kansas City, Mo. on Sunday, Sept. 8 at 5 p.m.
