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VALPARAISO, Ind. - The IUPUI women's soccer team allowed a soft first half goal and saw its offensive struggles continue as the Jaguars dropped a 1-0 decision at Valparaiso on Sunday afternoon. The loss dumped the Jaguars to 2-5 as the season nears the midpoint.

Valpo (4-1-2) got all the offense it would need in the 20th minute on somewhat of a fluke play. VU midfielder Janine Lytle skied a ball into the Jaguars' 18 yard box that freshman goalkeeper Kristin Haseley closed on. However, Haseley mistimed her challenge and saw the ball fly over her head and roll slowly into the open net.

"For the most part, we kept them out of the 18," IUPUI Head Coach Chris Johnson said. "Defensively, we played well. It's disappointing to say the least.

"Right now, mentally, we're not able to step up and pick it up after something like that happens. We don't have that fight in us yet like we did last year."

Otherwise, IUPUI outshot the Crusaders 10-9 and held the hosts to just two shots on frame.

Offensively, the Jaguars had limited opportunities and were unable to capitalize when there were chances. Junior Alicia Brock setup a key chance for freshman Sarah Carlisle, but the rookie midfielder was slide tackled by a VU back to prevent a possible breakaway opportunity. Brock led the Jaguars with two shot attempts and was IUPUI's best offensive option on the outside.

"We just didn't turn offensive runs down the field into quality chances on goal," Johnson said. "We concentrated on winning balls in the midfield, which we did a good job of. From there, we just didn't focus on connecting passes and instead tried to play the ball over top of them."

Haseley took the loss in net while Giselle Guzman played a scoreless second half and recorded a save. VU's Kristen Manski made five stops in the shutout victory. All five of IUPUI's losses on the season have been via shutout.

"We're going to get back to work this week in practice and hopefully get some things straightened out," Johnson said. "We have to get better. We're not bad right now, we just have to get better."

The Jaguars will return home to host Indiana State on Pack the House Night on Fri., Sept. 17. As part of BIG BOLD JAGUARS Weekend, IUPUI will host a men's and women's soccer doubleheader at Kuntz Stadium on Friday night and are charging just $1 for adult admission. In addition, fans under the age of 18 are admitted for free, as are IUPUI students with a valid JagTag.