Photo by Jake McNeill: Southwest Minnesota State University defender Sophia Sonnek (20) dribbles along the sideline through contact from an Upper Iowa player during a non-conference womens soccer game at Mattke Field on Friday.

MARSHALL — A physical non-conference battle between the Southwest Minnesota State University and Upper Iowa womens soccer teams ended with a 1-0 win for the Peacocks on Friday afternoon, with Haylee Allen scoring the unassisted game-winning goal in the 86th minute.

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The tension came to a boiling point in the game’s 54th minute, when Sophia Wilson took offense to a push while she was on the ball and punches were traded. Wilson and Upper Iowa’s Jessica Ancheta were each handed red cards for the altercation, and both teams played with 10 players for the remainder of the match. A red card comes with a minimum of a one-game suspension.

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SMSU head coach Clay Glasgow said he didn’t see the start of the altercation, just that he looked up and saw the punch from Upper Iowa, and was told by the officials after the review that both players threw punches and would be ejected.

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SMSU carried play in the attacking third for the bulk of the match. Yet, the Peacocks were able to flip the ball from the box into a counterattack late and Allen was able to get off the shot for the game-winner. She was the only player on the pitch with two shots on goal in the match.

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“They [Upper Iowa] were looking to do that, they’re looking to drop and look for the counter,” Glasgow said. “Give them credit, they were able to counter us and it was a good shot… In this game, it’s about transition and we were sending numbers forward and were trying to transition; they just caught us with one long ball and beat all our defenders.”

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SMSU finished the day with a 14-4 advantage in shots, including an 8-1 edge in the first half. Yet, each of the Peacocks’ four shots was on target as opposed to just three of the Mustangs’ 14.

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“At the end of the day, we’ve got to score, so it’s one of those games where you feel like you outshot them, you outplayed them, and the ball just can’t go in the back of the net,” Glasgow said. “There’s nothing you can do about that, so for us it’s just a matter of watching tape and figuring out how we can be better. We can’t contemplate on this one for too long because we’ve got a quick turnaround.”

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Mercy Godfrey led SMSU with three shots in the match, though none were on goal. Wilson, Brooke Wetterstrom, Karla Paredes-Nino and Jada Backes each had one shot on goal, with Wetterstrom, Paredes-Nino and Backes each getting off a pair of attempts.

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While the Mustangs were only able to get off four shots on target, they were consistently on the brink of scoring. SMSU had a pair of shots ricochet off the post and out, and another few were just high or wide of the goal.

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“The thing about that is that we’re creating these chances. I think it would be a little bit more troubling if we weren’t creating chances, just a matter of finishing those opportunities,” Glasgow said. “I think that’s repetition. More repetition, more practice, more opportunities in front of the goal. But we’ve got some young players, and sometimes in those situations, we need a little bit of composure… But we’ve got a lot more games and we’ve got to stay positive.”

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Kennady Krebs finished her day in goal with three saves on four shots faced, while Sienna Johnson saved each of the four shots she faced for Upper Iowa.

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SMSU falls to 1-1 on the season and goes on the road to take on Fort Hays State at Fort Hays State University Soccer Stadium in Hays, Kan. on Sunday at noon. The Tigers are 0-2 on the season after falling 3-1 to Rockhurst (Mo.) and 2-1 to Northwest Oklahoma State last week.