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INDIANAPOLIS - SIU-Edwardsville freshman forward Peter Kelly tallied his second collegiate goal in the 39th minute as the Cougars escaped with a 1-0 win over IUPUI at Kuntz Stadium on Saturday afternoon. SIUE's Nash Maduekwe carried the ball up the right sideline before shifting a pass into Kelly who one-timed it into the left half of the net for the game-winner.

The tally was the only blemish against goalkeeper Alex Mannen's day as the redshirt made eight stops in his collegiate debut. Mannen was tested less than two minutes in when he had to tip Kevin Bielicki's bicycle kick over the crossbar.

"Mannen was the bright spot of today's game. He probably got the jitters out on that first stop. It helped him kind of get his feet under him and get some confidence right off the bat," Head Coach Steve Franklin said. "He played solid.

"He conducted himself well and I think he got the valuable 90 minutes that we needed him. Now both of our goalkeepers have been tested."

Offensively, IUPUI (1-6-3) struggled to find creases against SIU-E (3-5-1) after the opening 15 minutes. Senior Eric Weigman had a well played cross roll through the Cougars' 18-yard box early in the match, but no attacker was able to get on the other end to get a shot on frame. Later, Nate Ohmer had a chance to put a shot on frame, but SIU-E goalkeeper Scott Meyer beat the Jaguars' midfielder to the ball before he could get a final touch.

Meyer's only save of the contest came on an Emile Garcia header late in the match. Freshman Kyle Hyland also got a clean look off his right foot in the final minute but had his drive sail over the crossbar. For the most part, the Cougars' ability to possess outweighed IUPUI's efforts to counter.

"We told our guys that they have to deal with accountability," Franklin said. "The guys need to look in the mirror and take a look at where they're at at this point in the year. What we need to do is be accountable in how we take care of the ball.

"I don't think we connected with our passes and I don't think we connected mentally today. It just never seemed like we were clicking. You've got to give some of that credit to SIUE. They're a ball possession team and we never really found the quick counter we were looking for. Now we've got to get back to the basics."

SIU-E outshot IUPUI 17-10 overall and 9-1 on frame. In addition, the guests had a 7-1 advantage on corner kicks. Chris Anzalone led all players with five shots while Tyler Fritcha and Caleb Lindemann attempted two each for the Jags.

IUPUI will now return to Summit League play when it travels to Western Illinois next Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. kickoff.