Box Score I Box Score (.pdf) | Sam Fuller Postgame

INDIANAPOLIS – On a night where the IUPUI men’s soccer team was set to honor its seven seniors playing in their final home game at Kuntz Stadium, it was a freshman who made it a night to remember as IUPUI defeated in-state rival IPFW, 4-3, in a Summit League thriller Saturday evening.

Three seniors had a part in IUPUI’s three first-half goals giving the Jags what looked to be an insurmountable lead only to watch it dissipate in the second half. In the second 10-minute sudden death overtime period, Galen Cassady’s header inside the six was blocked right to Sam Fuller, who headed the ball in the back of the net giving IUPUI the crucial conference win.

Prior to the start of the game, head coach Isang Jacob felt that Fuller would have a big impact on the game and the Zionsville, Ind.-product netted his fourth goal of the season, all of which have gone for game-winners.

“The kid has got something special and he’s got my vote for Newcomer of the Year,” Jacob said about Fuller. “But I tell you what, I saw that in practice. He was hungry in practice yesterday and he pulled it off and really helped us out tonight.”

“Right when overtime started, Yogi (Snider) came up to me and said score a goal for me, so it felt great that I was able to do that for (the seniors),” Fuller said.

It didn’t take long for the Jaguars to get on the scoreboard as Cassady headed a ball off a corner kick from Kyle Hyland in the ninth minute to get IUPUI going.

Less than three minutes later, Matt Guy was looking to put the pressure on forcing a cross into the box and the ball ricocheted off an IPFW defenseman into the left side of the goal giving the Jaguars a comfortable 2-0 lead 12 minutes in.

Despite the lead, IPFW had more looks on goal in the first half but goalkeeper Tyler Keever kept the Mastodons at bay until IUPUI struck in the 31st minute.

Looking to keep the pressure on, Fuller made some nice moves trying to create a scoring opportunity and once he slivered past a defender, he looked back and slid a pass through two defensemen to Perez Agaba and Agaba got off a shot with enough pace to bypass the goalie expanding the Jaguars lead to 3-0, which would be their advantage heading into the half.

If IPFW was going to get back in the game, most would have thought it would come from the play of one of the top players in the conference in Max Touloute. However, it was the defensemen of the Mastodons that helped them claw back into the game.

Myles Stanley scored off a corner kick in the 59th minute giving IPFW its first goal, before sneaking up into the box in the 65th minute and depositing a cross from Colin Helmrich into the upper right corner of the goal cutting its deficit to 3-2.

The Mastodons continued to be aggressive by bringing up their defenders in search of the game-tying goal and in the 76th minute, Scott Williams scored his first goal of the season knotting the score at three.

IUPUI had two great chances at the end of regulation to win the game that went awry, ultimately sending the game into overtime.

Following 10 scoreless minutes of sudden death overtime, the Jaguars were able to strike in the 105th minute. Off a corner from Hyland, Cassady’s header deflected off an IPFW defenseman and seemed to stay in the air forever. Fuller was standing inside the six near the left goal post and the ball came right to him and he did the rest sending the ball into the back of the net as IUPUI picked up the dramatic victory.

The win improved IUPUI’s overall record to 6-8-2, while upping its Summit League mark to 2-1-1, a half game in front of the 2-2 Mastodons.

The Jags have a week to prepare before welcoming Oral Roberts to Carmel, Ind. for an Oct. 29 meeting, which will be held at Carmel High School. The game is set to begin at 2 p.m.