FAYETTE, Iowa - The first leg of the weekend trip for the Davenport men's soccer team yielded a nice 2-1 win at Upper Iowa. The Peacocks were the hottest team in the GLIAC entering the match having won four straight. The Panthers on the other hand had lost back-to-back matches at home and were in need of a win to keep themselves atop of the conference standings.

The Panthers began their second round through GLIAC play and beat the Peacocks for the second time this year. Upper Iowa has proved to be an up-and-coming team after hovering at the bottom of the league standings in past seasons. Davenport needed a solid effort and got that from their leaders. With the win, DU is now 6-5 overall and 6-2 in the GLIAC. They are now back in sole possession of first place because Purdue Northwest lost this evening at St. Cloud State.

Matt Whelan proved all of the offense for the Panthers. He upped his season goal total to five, which ranks second on the team behind Justice Sikkema's seven goals. He scored both of his goals unassisted in the 20th and 61st minute. Daire O'Riordan drilled a long pass to the right sideline and Whelan gathered the ball just before it went out of bounds. He dribbled towards the middle of the field and cut past a defender. He gained enough space to fire a shot with his left foot from around 16 yards to the top left corner. On the second goal, he took a shot in close which was saved and gathered the rebound and beat a diving keeper from eight yards out for the 2-0 advantage.

The Peacocks made one last push and cut the deficit to 2-1 in the 88th minute. In what was one of the sweetest goals by an opponent all season, Tate Lofdahl took a corner kick in the right corner and served it into the 18-yard box. Italo Martins Soares connected on a half bicycle kick from 14 yards and his ninth goal of the season went in just under the crossbar. DU was able to keep the ball away from any danger in the closing minutes for the win.

The final shots were 14-12 in favor of Upper Iowa but the Peacocks only put one on goal. Osvaldo Alonzo made two saves for UIU in net. Shane Marinkovich did not make a save for DU but posted the keeper victory to improve to 6-2. The Panthers are back on the pitch on Sunday with a trip to St. Cloud State for a 1:00 PM ET kickoff.