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CHARLESTON, Ill. - IUPUI freshman Krissy Kirkhoff recorded just the fifth hat trick in the program's history on Sunday (Sept. 7) at Eastern Illinois, leading the Jaguars to a 3-2 win over the Panthers. Kirkhoff scored in the 49th, 58th and 83rd minutes, becoming the first Jag to score three goals in a game since Sarah Leonard did so in October 2001. The win snapped the Jaguars' three-game losing skid and was the program's first-ever against Eastern Illinois in six tries. 

"It was kind of an unnecessary nail biter today. We go up two goals and give up two PK's two minutes apart and then it takes Krissy scoring again to win it for us," IUPUI Head Coach Chris Johnson said. "That said, the lid is off the goal officially. 

"There was pretty good play across the board from a lot of people. I thought Krissy played pretty well today and I thought Grace and Meghan Day played well in the middle. Nicole played well in goal - if it wasn't for the two PK's, she's got a shutout. And she made a heck of a play on the second PK and almost stopped it."

After a scoreless first half, Kirkhoff put the Jaguars on the board early in the second, netting her first career goal in the 49th minute. Junior Grace Perkowitz sprung her free with a lead pass and Kirkhoff did the rest, slotting a shot past EIU goalie Kylie Morgan. Less than 10 minutes later, Kirkhoff made it 2-0 when she drilled a shot from in close, set up by sophomore Alyssa Fox's cross into traffic. 

However, the lead was short lived as a pair of defensive miscues led to two penalty kicks in less than two minutes. In the 79th minute, Meagan Radloff finished a PK try and in the 81st minute, EIU's Chris Reed earned a PK opportunity and finished it herself, beating sophomore goalie Nicole Kulovitz. Kulovitz guessed right on Reed's PK, but was unable to keep the shot out of her net for the game-tying score. 

Kirkhoff, who enjoyed a near 10-minute break on the bench in the second half, came back and completed the heroic effort with the game-winner in the 83rd minute. Perkowitz was credited with her second assist of the day as she crossed the ball in front of the EIU keeper, allowing Kirkhoff to get a shot past Morgan. 

IUPUI (2-4-1) outshot EIU (0-6) 13-11 on the day with Kirkhoff, The Summit League leader in shot attempts, firing five times. Fox had three shot attempts and Perkowitz had two tries. Kulovitz earned her first win of the season and made five stops in net. Reed, who scored in her third straight game for the Panthers, had a team-high four shot attempts in the loss. 

With the win, IUPUI improved to 1-4-1 all-time against EIU. 

The Jaguars will be back in action on Friday, Sept. 12 when they host Evansville at Carroll Stadium at 7:00 p.m..