INDIANAPOLIS - Being a young bunch, the IUPUI women's soccer team could use a little luck on its side. Unfortunately on Friday, the Jags were unlucky as Oakland escaped Kuntz Stadium with a 1-0 Summit League win.
IUPUI outshot the guests 18-12 on the afternoon and had four more corner kicks than the opposition. Oakland's Jessica Boyle notched the game-winner in the 48th minute as she caught IUPUI sophomore goalkeeper Jamie Farrell off her back line for her second score of the season.
OU (3-6-0, 2-2-0) midfielder Emma Pope slid a through ball to a sprinting Boyle, who had slipped behind the IUPUI back four. Boyle raced into a one-on-one situation with Farrell and was able to flare a shot to the upper right corner of the net for the game's only score.
IUPUI (1-6-1, 0-1-0) had two golden opportunities down the stretch, but caught a bad break on the first and was unsuccessful on the second. With just under 17 minutes left, senior Sheri Levack lofted a ball deep into Oakland territory, finding 5-foot-10 forward Stephanie Hoffman. Hoffman got her head to the ball before OU goalkeeper Elizabeth Watza could make a play, but the shot hit harmlessly off the outside of the right post before being knocked out of bounds.
With just under five minutes left, a Watza mental error set up the Jags with a free kick just inside the 18-yard box. On the ensuing restart, senior Angie Pilat was unable to get a shot through the Oakland wall, helping Watza preserve the shutout.
"Oakland is historically one of the top, if not the top team in this conference," IUPUI head coach Chris Johnson said. "We're not playing badly, it's just not translating into goals and results right now."
After weathering an initial Oakland surge to start the match, the Jaguars settled down and controlled much of the first half. Unfortunately for IUPUI, only one shot was on net while four of OU's five tries were on the mark.
"We could've easily been down 3-0 after five minutes," Johnson said. "I thought Jamie (Farrell) made three huge saves to keep us in the game early.
"I thought our ability to go forward was good, but our ability to put shots on goal was lacking."
Farrell, the reigning Summit League Defensive Player of the Week, made four of her six saves in the first half. Metza had five saves in the win. Offensively, Levack, Pilat and freshman Cara Hartman led the Jags with three shots apiece.
Johnson credited Hartman and Natalie Holland's first half play for turning the early tides on the Golden Grizzlies.
"Cara came in and was able to win balls in the midfield and Natalie did a good job of keeping people in front of her.
"We just need to get everyone playing well at once."
IUPUI concludes the two-game homestand with a non-conference tilt versus Evansville on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m.. The Jaguars will be conducting a free soccer clinic, open to kids of all ages and ability levels, at Kuntz Stadium before the match. That clinic will begin at noon.
