Taylor Heidorn Postgame

INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI women's soccer team opened its three-game homestand with a pivotal 2-1 win over Western Illinois on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon (Oct. 26) at Michael A. Carroll Stadium. Senior Taylor Heidorn turned in a goal and an assist and junior Kalli Shepler-Tucker netted the game-winner in the 74th minute. 

IUPUI (5-9-3, 3-3 Summit) just missed getting the shutout but Western Illinois (3-12-1, 2-3-1) senior Sarah Hall scored in the 83rd minute. 

"I'm proud of how the girls fought and persevered today," IUPUI Head Coach Chris Johnson said. "The girls did what they needed to do to get the win. We faced some adversity at different points during the day, but stuck with it and got the win. I'm very proud of the overall effort from all the girls."

"We played our game today," Heidorn said. "We passed it to feet, we kept (the ball), we made the tackles, we played defense. When we are successful, it's because we're doing the things we know how to do."

IUPUI was seemingly in the driver's seat from the opening kickoff, but was unable to solve WIU goalie Victoria Kappel in the early going, despite a number of quality chances. Sophomore Catherine Raster hit a bullet right at Kappel in the fourth minute and Shepler-Tucker tested her with a shot on target in the ninth minute. It was until Johnson went to the bench that the IUPUI attack finally put a goal away in the 35th minute. 

Sophomore Alyssa Fox started the play with a long throw-in over the head of a WIU defender, springing Hayley Shelton loose along the sideline. Shelton beat her defender to the end line before angling a ball back into traffic. Heidorn brilliantly redirected a shot towards the far post for her second goal of the season to open the scoring. 

"I saw the goal. The keeper was on the near side of the post and Hayley played a perfect ball in - I only had to redirect it," Heidorn said. "It was an awesome pass and I'm glad I was able to finish."

Despite the Jaguars continuing to build opportunities, the lead stayed at 1-0 until the 74th minute when Shepler-Tucker deposited her second score of the year, capping a string of nearly eight IUPUI passes. Junior Lauren Kulaga played a pass out to Heidorn, who spotted Shepler-Tucker on the right side. The New Palestine-native grounded a shot in towards the far post, slotting in past Kappel and just inside the frame.

Western made things interesting when Hall tallied in the 83rd minute, breaking up freshman Catherine Schmidt's shutout bid. A WIU attacker made a fantastic play to keep the ball from rolling over the end line. From there, IUPUI was unable to clear the ball and Hall capitalized, drilling her fourth score of the year from the right side. 

The Jaguars were able to control possession for much of the final six minutes though en route to a third home win this season.

IUPUI finished with a 19-8 shot advantage and 10-2 edge in shots on goal. Shepler-Tucker had four shot attempts while three others had three tries. Hall led WIU with three shots while Kappel made eight saves in the loss. Schmidt needed just one stop in her fourth win of the season. 

The Jaguars will continue the three game homestand on Friday, Oct. 31 when they host South Dakota immediately after the men's match with Denver. Kickoff is expected at approximately 7:30 p.m.