INDIANAPOLIS – Denver held possession for a majority of the game and outshot the IUPUI men's soccer team, 17-6, but the Jaguars made the most of their limited opportunities and picked up a goal from Joshua Ayala in the 76th minute to give IUPUI the 1-0 win in Summit League action Friday evening (Oct. 31) at Carroll Stadium.

"I'm proud of our boys," IUPUI Head Coach Isang Jacob said. "The boys went out and got the result in the face of adversity. The weather was poor and we were missing some guys, but we had some other guys step up and fill those voids. 

"We talked about needing this result and thankfully, we got it."
 
Ayala's strike in the 76th minute came off an Emmanuel Usen deflection following a cross from Uriel Macias as the freshman trio combined on the game's lone goal. Following Usen's touch, the ball found Ayala's foot inside the 18 yard line and he took care of the rest putting a powerful strike with his left foot into the top of the net.
 
Denver (8-7-1, 2-2-1 Summit) played with a sense of urgency and had a few opportunities late, but Eduardo Cortes finished off the shutout to earn his fourth win of the season. It was the junior's ninth career shutout and his first of the season. Conversely, it was just the second time The Summit League's top scoring team had been blanked all year. 
 
Denver had two of its better scoring chances in the first few minutes of each half having a header deflect off the cross bar in the first half, before having Luke Sartino clear a ball that looked to be going in with Cortes off his line to start the second half. As the second half wore on, the weather worsened and a mixture of rain and snow began to fall on the field causing for some slipping and sliding, but as the weather worsened IUPUI started to maintain its possession ultimately resulting in Ayala's timely goal, his second of the year.
 
In addition to the shot advantage, Denver had a 7-0 corner kick edge over the Jaguars (5-7-2, 2-2-1), all coming in the first half. Kosta Kordistos and Teddy Mullin led the Pios with three shots each while Macias attempted three for the Jaguars. 

IUPUI improved to 2-2 all-time against Denver as Friday's match was the first-ever meeting between the two schools in Indianapolis. 
 
IUPUI will have a few days off before returning home on Tuesday, Nov. 4, for its final home match of the season against Detroit. The game is set to start at 7 p.m. at Carroll Stadium. The soccer program will recognize the senior duo of Tyler Drumm and Matt Smith immediately prior to Tuesday's non-conference match.