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FAYETTE, Iowa – The No. 15-ranked Northeastern State men's soccer team came from behind to defeat Upper Iowa 3-2 in overtime Saturday afternoon at Pattison Field.
 
The RiverHawks improved to 4-2-0 on the year and 2-0-0 in the MIAA. The Peacocks fell to 3-2-1 overall and 1-1-0 in the league.
 
UIU outshot NSU 6-2 in the first 45 minutes, but the two teams went into half scoreless.
 
The home side picked up the early advantage when Ryan Pinkerton scored in the 49th minute. Junior midfielder Crosby Lee equalized 47 seconds later on a header from the foot of fellow junior midfielder Frank Garay.
 
Johnny McBeth put the Peacocks back on top in the 61st minute on a goal from Pinkerton, but sophomore midfielder Chris Mendez found the back of the net in the 74th minute to send the match into overtime.
 
It took just 4:53 into the extra session for NSU to secure the road victory. Sophomore forward Jonathan Guzman took a pass from Garay 25 yards out and rifled a shot into the far right corner.
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Jackson Biles made seven saves in the winning effort, while Peacock netminder Connor Rortvedt made four saves and conceded three goals in the loss.
 
Upper Iowa outshot NSU 18-10 and led in corner kicks 4-1.
 
Northeastern State will return to action at 7 p.m. Sept. 25. The RiverHawks will travel to Southern Nazarene University.
 
Scoring Summary
NSU                 0          2          1          –          3
UIU                   0          2          0          –          2
 
Individual Scoring
Ryan Pinkerton (UIU) at 48:11 (unassisted)
Crosby Lee (NSU) at 48:58 (Frank Garay)
Johnny McBeth (UIU) at 60:35 (Ryan Pinkerton)
Chris Mendez (NSU) at 73:59 (unassisted)
Jonathan Guzman (NSU) at 94:53 (Frank Garay)
 
Goalkeeper Saves
Jackson Biles (NSU) – 7
Connor Rortvedt (UIU) – 4
 
NORTHEASTERN STATE COACH ROB CZLONKA
Opening Statement…
"We didn't have our best stuff today. The wind was a bit of a problem at times, but we caused our own issues. They scored on us early in the second half, and we quickly answered. I thought we would be fine after that, but they were able to get another one. I'm happy we were able to do enough to get past this team. (Upper Iowa) battled very hard. They were well organized and very well coached. I would expect them to be a major contender in the MIAA this year."
 
On the goals…
"Frank (Garay) served a well-placed ball into the box, and Crosby nailed a good header home. (Chris) Mendez finished a second chance opportunity. Johnny (Guzman's) goal was awesome. He megged the defender and struck a ball that went into the upper 90 on the far right post. We've been pushing Johnny to be more attack-minded, and that was exactly what we were wanting from him."
 
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