at South Dakota State (Oct. 3 - 7 p.m.): Live Stats I Live Video
at North Dakota State (Oct. 5 - 1 p.m.): Live Stats I Live Video 

BROOKINGS, S.D. - After nearly a two-week gap between games, the IUPUI women's soccer team will open Summit League play this weekend when the Jaguars take on South Dakota State and North Dakota State during a two-game trip to the Midwest. Head Coach Chris Johnson's team will play SDSU at Fishback Soccer Park at 7:00 p.m. Eastern on Friday (Oct. 3) before taking on the Bison at 1:00 p.m. Eastern on Sunday (Oct. 5).

This weekend opens Summit League play for all nine of the league's institutions.  

IUPUI (2-6-3) gained some positive momentum with a 3-3 draw against Indiana State on Sept. 21, especially after falling into a 3-0 hole early in the second half. Sophomore forward Tori Minnich played the role of hero, scoring three times in a 12-minute burst to help the Jaguars salvage a draw. The Jaguars had opportunities to steal a win, but ultimately closed with a tie after 110 minutes. 

Minnich took over the team lead with five goals on the season while Meghan Day, Sierra Bryant and Kalli Shepler-Tucker each had assists against the Sycamores. Both Day and Shepler-Tucker are tied with a team-high three assists through 11 games. Freshman Krissy Kirkhoff is second on the squad with four goals and has attempted a league-best 47 shots in her 11 appearances. 

Defensively, sophomore goalie Nicole Kulovitz has a 1.59 goals against average and 40 saves in eight games while rookie Catherine Schmidt owns a 1.66 GAA and 33 stops. 

Johnson is hopeful the added rest allowed his team to get back to full strength after a rash of early season injuries picked off at least five contributors. Only junior Lauren Kulaga and senior Anna Rode have started all 11 matches for IUPUI this season. 

SDSU (4-4) has been tough at home this season, going 3-1, including a win over Drake. Shelby Raper leads the Jackrabbits with four goals while Diana Potterveld has three goals and a team-high four assists. Elisa Stamatakis has been SDSU's top goalie with a 1.68 GAA and 11 saves in her six appearances.  

IUPUI is just 2-7-1 all-time against SDSU and not beaten the Jackrabbits since the 2009 Summit League Championship match. IUPUI won that contest 4-1 at Fishback Park to earn the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. Last season, the Jacks beat IUPUI 1-0 at Carroll Stadium. 

NDSU (4-5) has been similarly tough at home, winning two of its three contests at Dacotah Field. Lauren Miller comes in with seven goals, including three game-winners for the Bison. Meanwhile, Lizzie Lukas has three goals on the season and Amy Yang leads NDSU with four assists. Defensively, Sierra Bonham has a 1.04 GAA in nine starts as the Bison have allowed just nine goals in nine games. 

IUPUI is 4-6 all-time against NDSU, but lost four straight in the series. Johnson's team won three straight from 2008-2009, including a 1-0 victory in The Summit League Tournament semifinals in 2009. NDSU won the last meeting, 2-0 at Carroll Stadium on Oct. 4, 2013.