NASHVILLE - The IUPUI men's soccer team saw another tight game slip away Sunday (Sept. 20) as they lost to Lipscomb 1-0 on a penalty kick in the 84th minute.
IUPUI (0-5-2) has seen all five of their losses come in contests decided by just one goal. Lipscomb (2-4-1) outshot the Jaguars 11-7 in the contest and 5-2 on frame. IUPUI keeper Eduardo Cortes recorded four saves and produced a clean sheet through 84 minutes.
"I thought the boys battled until the last six minutes when the penalty kick was awarded," IUPUI Head Coach Isang Jacob said. "It was an unfortunate call. I thought we showed a lot of fight all day. We had some chances, but just didn't finish them.
"Eduardo played really well. There really wasn't much he could do on the PK."
A turning point in the scoreless game came early in the second half as IUPUI senior captain Cliff Hoffar received a red card in the 58th minute. Hoffar tangled with a Lipscomb attacker and was immediately sent off the pitch, leaving the Jaguars a man down.
"Two players collided and it was called a red (card)," Jacob said. "Clint is the last player that would intentionally take someone down. We continued to battle from there, but it's hard to go a man down against a dynamic team like Lipscomb and get a result."
The match remained tied for a half hour after the Hoffar ejection, before Lipscomb found the difference maker. A Jaguar hand-ball in the box set up the PK for Lipscomb's Matt Kerridge that proved to be the game-winner.
"We played well in both matches down here. We got a tough result against Belmont on Friday and very easily could've gotten a result today," Jacob said. "Restarts have hurt us all year long. If you look back at every game, it's been restarts that have been what's given us trouble."
Cortes and junior Harold Agyeman-Prempeh earned spots on the All-Tournament Team for their efforts over the weekend.
The Jags were held scoreless for the first time in four games and are still looking for their first win of the 2015 campaign. Coach Jacob and the Jags will try again at home next Saturday (Sept. 26) in their first conference match with Omaha (6-1-0) at 7 p.m. at Michael A. Carroll Stadium. Admission is free of charge, although standard university parking rates may apply.
