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OMAHA, Neb. - Undefeated in its past four outings, the IUPUI women's soccer team will continue Summit League play on Friday night (Oct. 9) when the Jaguars face Omaha at Caniglia Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. Eastern (7 pm Central). Friday's match marks IUPUI's first Summit League road match of the season while Omaha (3-7-2, 0-2 Summit) will be hosting its home opener in league play. 

IUPUI (5-4-2, 0-0-1 Summit) is coming off a 2-2 double overtime draw with Fort Wayne on Sunday, getting goals from sophomore Krissy Kirkhoff and Grace Perkowitz. The tie came on the heels of a three-game winning streak as the Jaguars haven't lost since a 2-1 defeat at Evansville on Sept. 13. 

KIRKHOFF STAYS HOT
Kirkhoff has a team-high seven goals and seven assists and has scored in four straight games coming into Friday's match. Her seven assists has already set a new IUPUI single-season record. Kirkhoff had a goal and an assist against Fort Wayne last Sunday and fired a team-high 10 shots, including putting four on goal. 

FIRST TIMERS
Freshman Becca Spitalniak became the most recent player to net her first career goal this season, tallying the game-winner at Marian on Sept. 18. She becomes the fourth Jaguar to score her first career goal this season, joining sophomores Leia Peterman and Beth Parks and senior Lauren Kulaga.

FOR STARTERS
IUPUI has had 17 different players start at least two matches this season, although seven have started all 11 matches. Injuries have played a major role in the patchwork starting lineups as expected starter Sierra Bryant suffered a season-ending injury in the third match of the season and another expected starter, Catherine Raster, missed the first month due to injury. 

ACADEMIC HONORS
For the seventh straight year, the IUPUI women's soccer team earned the NSCAA Team Academic Award on Sept. 23. Teams with a 3.0 GPA or greater are recognized nationally for their achievements.  

QUOTABLE
"Something affected us for sure coming out in the first half, we just weren't where we've been in the past few games," Head Coach Chris Johnson said after the Fort Wayne draw. "The intensity wasn't there - maybe it was the nine-day layoff - but we had some personnel changes too."  

NEWBIES
Nine different players have made their IUPUI debuts this season, with a combination of two Division-I transfers, two redshirt freshman and five true freshmen. Of the newcomers, true freshman Braegan Lyon leads the group in minutes played (502), followed by Spitalniak (418) and Purdue-transfer Brea'Anna Sanders (411). 

NUMBERS
-Senior Lauren Kulaga has made 69 career starts and is on the verge of becoming the sixth player in school history to earn 70 career starts.
-Kirkhoff's seven assists this season have set a new single-season record in that category. 
-Senior Kalli Shepler-Tucker enters play with 14 career assists, one shy of tying Sheri Levack for the program's all-time lead in that category.
-Minnich is the team's active career leader in goals (17) and second in points (39) while Kirkhoff is second in goals (16) and the leader in points (40). 
-Maddie Riedford leads the team's field players in minutes played with 815, followed closely by Kulaga (813) and Kirkhoff (778).

AMONG THE LEADERS
Below is a look at where IUPUI players rank in The Summit League statistical leaders entering the weekend:
Goals: Kirkhoff (2nd / 7), Minnich (3rd / 6)
Assists: Kirkhoff (1st / 7), Shelton (t-5th / 4)
Points: Kirkhoff (2nd / 21), Minnich (3rd / 14) 
Shots: Kirkhoff (1st / 52), Minnich (8th / 24)
Game-Winners: Minnich (t-1st / 3), Perkowitz (t-4th / 1), Spitalniak (t-4th / 1)
Saves: Schmidt (5th / 49)
Save Percentage: Schmidt (4th / .803)
Goals Against Average: Schmidt (3rd / 1.24)
Wins: Schmidt (3rd / 5)
Shutouts: Schmidt (t-4th / 2)

SCOUTING THE JAGUARS
IUPUI is 5-4-2 on the season and 3-2 in true road games. The Jaguars have become an offensive juggernaut in the past month, scoring 11 goals in the past four games. Kirkhoff (7 goals, 7 assists) and Minnich (6 goals, 2 assists) have shouldered the load, while Perkowitz is the only other Jaguar to have multiple goals with two. Sophomore Hayley Shelton is second on the squad with four assists and classmate Leia Peterman added her second assist of the year against IPFW last Sunday. 

Sophomore goalie Catherine Schmidt has been solid in goal, starting all 11 matches this season. All total, she's posted a 1.24 goals against average, 49 saves and two shutouts. 

SCOUTING THE MAVS
Omaha is 3-7-2 on the season and opened Summit League play with consecutive 1-0 road losses at North Dakota State and South Dakota State. The Mavs are 3-2-1 at home this season with wins over Northern Illinois, Drake and Northern Colorado. Chelsi Rohloff leads the Omaha attack with four goals, accounting for half of the team's total this season. She also has a team-high 33 shot attempts, putting 14 on target. Courtney Neville has a team-high two assists while seven others have one assist. 

Defensively, Katlyn Schochenmaier has started seven of 12 games in net, posting a 1.55 goals against average and 55 saves and three wins. As a team, Omaha has a 1.96 GAA and one shutout on the season. 

SERIES RECORDS
IUPUI is 3-0 all-time against Omaha and won the only other matchup in Omaha, 1-0 on Nov. 1, 2013. The Jaguars won last year's meeting in Indianapolis by a 2-0 score behind a pair of first goals from Kirkhoff. Tori Minnich and Kalli Shepler-Tucker earned assists while Catherine Schmidt recorded the shutout in goal. 

UP NEXT
IUPUI will return home to host Oral Roberts on Oct. 16 at 7:00 p.m. at Michael A. Carroll Stadium. Admission is FREE and open to the public, although standard university parking rates will apply.