Box Score

INDIANAPOLIS - Something had to give on Wednesday night at Kuntz Stadium when the IUPUI and Eastern Illinois men's soccer teams squared off. Coming in, EIU had scored nine goals in its past two outings while the Jaguars hadn't allowed a score since beginning a three-game homestand last week, and fortunately, that trend continued on a chilly autumn evening.

Defense played victorious as the Jaguars got a goal in the final minute of the first half and notched another shutout in a 1-0 blanking of the Panthers. It was IUPUI's third straight shutout, a feat which hasn't happened since 2000. 

It was even sweeter because the defensive backfield held EIU's Brad Peters to just four shots, none of which were on frame. Peters was one of 48 players named to the Hermann Trophy Watch List prior to the season.

"The main emphasis tonight was to keep Brad Peters in check," IUPUI Head Coach Steve Franklin said. "We had (Ryan) Brumbaugh kind of man mark him and then just used Derek Craig and Yogi (Snider) to pick up the seven player when he floated through."

"Ryan's got a feather in his cap for shutting (Peters) down."

EIU (5-3-1) was able to outshoot the Jaguars 20-11, but put just three on goal. 

"We wanted to make sure we didn't allow them to play direct. They like to play direct," Franklin said. "And Tyler (Keever) does a good job of organizing them back there. We're going on 300 plus minutes of shutout ball."

Keever, who is now 3-1-2 as a starter in goal, has gone 334:02 without allowing a goal and been named The Summit League Defensive Player of the Week the past two weeks. He lowered his goals against average to a miniscule 0.60 on the year.

IUPUI (5-3-2) got all the offense it would need in the closing minute of the first half. Senior back Ben Heidari played a long lead up the left side of the field to freshman Tyler Fritcha. Fritcha continued to work up the sideline before lining a ball from an improbable angle off the hands of EIU goalkeeper Mark Hansen and inside the near post for his first career goal.

"We talk a lot about making the most of your opportunities," Franklin said. "Fritcha did it - he seized the moment."

Fritcha had only been on the field less than three minutes when he found paydirt. Otherwise, the IUPUI attack had only a handful of good looks. 

Senior Cameron Williams put a header on frame from in close early in the match and Heidari missed a header wide right after skying above a crowd inside the box. Junior Eric Weigman got loose for a clean look midway through the second half, but hit it high of the goal. Freshmen Perez Agaba and Matt Guy led IUPUI with two shots apiece.

"We just didn't get in a rhythm," Franklin said. "We worked a lot on attacking space and that just didn't happen."

IUPUI will now hit the road on Saturday to take on UMKC in a Summit League showdown. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m..