FAYETTE, Iowa - Upper Iowa men's soccer starts its season on the road on Thursday, Aug. 27 against Roosevelt (Ill.) and on Sunday, Aug. 30 against Viterbo (Wis.). Thursday's kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m., and Sunday's is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
Jeancy Matumona-Bau enters his first season as a head coach with the Peacocks and his third season overall with the team. He served as a volunteer assistant in 2024, before being promoted to graduate assistant in 2025. Matumona-Bau played at NJCAA Division I Murray State College (Okla.) from 2018-20.
The Peacocks return 15 players from last season. Upper Iowa added 27 newcomers in the offseason, 12 of which are freshmen.
MEET THE PEACOCKS: RETURNERS
Upper Iowa returns four seniors. This includes forward Jeremiah Goko, forward Alejandro Suarez, goalkeeper Noah-Nymark Pedersen and defender Mathyas Hernandez-Bonilla.
This group accounted for 3,709 of the Peacocks' minutes during the 2025 season.
"The seniors' leadership has a huge impact in developing a team culture and mission," Matumona-Bau said. "This is a well-structured program and has an even better image when it comes to the field."
Outside of the seniors, UIU brings back midfielders Timur Nagy and Matas Dumalakas. Nagy appeared in 17 games with 13 starts, scoring five goals and two assists. Dumalakas played in 17 games with 16 starts and recorded three assists.
MEET THE PEACOCKS: NEWCOMERS
The Peacocks add a plethora of transfers/freshmen to their roster. An impactful transfer this year is Rodrigo De La Fuente, who comes to UIU from Northwestern College and Carl Sandburg College (Ill.). Over his three-year career, De La Fuente has played in 44 games and scored 30 total goals.
UIU has 12 incoming freshmen on this year's roster, five of which are from outside of the United States. The Peacocks picked up three players from Iowa and two from Sweden.
"Quite a few freshmen have impressed me thus far, and I expect a huge role for them in what we want to accomplish this year," Matumona-Bau said.
SCHEDULE PREVIEW
After the season opener against Roosevelt in Arlington Heights, Ill., on Thursday, Aug. 27, Upper Iowa travels to La Crosse, Wis., to take on Viterbo on Sunday, Aug. 30. The Peacocks start conference play against Missouri S&T on Sept. 4 and Missouri-St. Louis on Sept. 12. UIU competes in its first two home games against McKendree (Ill.) on Sept. 12 and No. 16 Lincoln (Mo.) on Sept. 16. The Lincoln matchup will be one of two games UIU hosts against preseason ranked teams this year as the Peacocks welcome No. 13 Rockhurst (Mo.) on Sept. 26.
The 2026 GLVC Men's Soccer Championship Tournament will be held Nov. 6 and 8 at the Cooper Sports Complex in Springfield, Mo., after the quarterfinals on Sunday, Nov. 1, are hosted by the top-four seeds. This is the first year the event will be hosted at this venue.
Each of the four Nov. 1 quarterfinal winners will advance to the semifinal contests on Friday, Nov. 6, while the title game will take place Sunday, Nov. 8.
"The GLVC is very competitive," Matumona-Bau said. "In the last couple of years, everyone could beat up on each other. I think that will continue this year, as we will see several upsets and surprises."
ABOUT THE LAKERS
This is the first matchup between the two teams since 2024, which ended with a 2-2 draw. Daniel Pranger and Fabio Bender each scored a goal for UIU, while Luca Swinton and Matteo Chiti each scored a goal for RU. Last season, the Lakers played against two GLVC opponents, beating Missouri-St. Louis, 2-1, and tying with Lewis,1-1.
The team returns forward Fynn Mewes, who led the team with 11 goals and tied for the second-most assists on the team with three. Midfielder Krystian Niziolek led the team last season with four assists. Midfielder Noah Vasilev scored the team's third-most last year with two goals. He also tied Mewes for the team's second-most assists.
Head coach Paddy Hoepp enters his fifth season with the Lakers with an overall record of 49-25-17. He led RU to a second-place finish in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Conference.
ABOUT THE V-HAWKS
Viterbo and Upper faced off last season, in which the Peacocks were victorious, 3-1. Dexter Garrett scored two goals, while Jonah Bowen-Burt scored a goal for UIU. Andrii Ketsuk scored the V-Hawks' lone goal.
Viterbo began its season by tying Dubuque, 1-1, on Aug. 22. Jakubas Jancaukas scored the team's lone goal. He was assisted by Yannis Chalal. Goalkeeper Kolenyo recorded a save.
Roberto Yepez is entering his fourth season as the head coach. He has an overall record of 25-18-12. Yepez guided the V-Hawks to a program-best record of 12-6-2 in 2025.
