FAYETTE, Iowa - Upper Iowa men's soccer (3-6-1, 2-4-1 GLVC) beat Southwest Baptist (4-6-1, 1-5-1 GLVC), 2-1. UIU shut out SBU in the second half as Deick and Navarro each scored a goal.
Peacocks took the late 2-1 victory during the 76th minute. Eduardo Gomez Montt kicked the ball from the left side of the pitch at the 10-yard line with his left foot. The ball curled right towards the front right side of the goal, where Florian Deick was able to head the ball into the lower left side of the goal past the Bearcat goalkeepers' fingertips.
The Bearcats scored first during the 32nd minute after a mistake by the Peacock defense. Southwest Baptist's Myles Panigua took advantage of the error, stealing the ball from a Peacock defender near the goal on the left side. He then found Zinedine Cherick, who was positioned in front of the net for the score.
UIU's first goal was scored by Abraham Navarro in the 58th minute. Navarro started with the ball at the far left side of the pitch near the 20-yard line and then passed it to Arnas Kurakinas on the far right side. Kurakinas booted the ball off his right foot back to Navarro, who then tapped the ball in at the lower right part of the net with the tip of his left foot
Deick notched his first goal of the season and his first since Sept. 24, 2023, against Quincy (Ill.). Navarro netted his second goal of the season. James Moody led the team in shots on goal with two, while Deick and Navarro each tallied one in the match. Gomez Montt and Kurakinas both had assists on the afternoon.
Nymark-Pedersen played all 90 minutes and recorded six saves during the game. He had three saves in each period.
The Peacocks were outshot in the first half, taking only two shots to SBU's 11. Both teams tallied seven shots in the second half. Southwest Baptist led 6-3 in corner kicks and Upper Iowa had more fouls, 9-6.
This win was the first for the Peacocks since Sept. 21 against Lewis (Ill.). UIU will attempt to keep the momentum rolling in Springfield, Missouri, on Sunday, matching up with Drury (Mo.) (1-3-5, 1-3-3 GLVC) at 2:30 p.m.
