INDIANAPOLIS – The IUPUI men's soccer team will kick off Summit League play this Saturday (Sept. 26) as they play host to No. 23 Omaha, a team who just cracked the top-25. 

The Jaguars (0-5-2) have been the victim of five losses decided by one goal apiece. They return home following a three-game road trip that consisted of a 2-1 loss to Cincinnati, a 1-1 draw with Belmont and a 1-0 loss to Lipscomb on a penalty kick in the 84th minute. 

Over the three-game spell, the Jags continued to see growth and production from fresh faces as their two goals were career firsts for freshmen Ben Thornton and Jack Zemanski. Just a few games before, freshman Trevor Semakula netted his first career goal as well. 

"We have wonderful freshmen," Head Coach Isang Jacob said. "We've started seven freshmen in the last two or three games. They're young but they're learning, and we tell the guys that we trust who we're putting in there." 

IUPUI senior keeper Eduardo Cortes has a Summit League high 38 saves through seven games, 12 more than anyone else in the Summit League. Cortes recorded 18 of those saves in the last three games. Despite the Jags' record, Cortes is third in the Summit League in goals-against average with 1.44 per game. 

"We have relied on (Cortes)," Coach Jacob said. "We continue to hope Eduardo has good games. He's the best goalkeeper in the league. I say that respectively, but he's one of the best in the country. He's playing with a back four that are all freshmen and he's been able to guide them." 

Coach Jacob's squad still gave a strong performance at the Hyatt Place Invitational over the weekend. Cortes and junior Harold Agyeman-Prempeh received spots on the All-Tournament Team. 

The Jags have their work cut out for them on Saturday as Omaha (6-1) comes in boasting the top offense in the Summit League. The Mavericks' Mark Mouton leads the Summit League with four goals while Noor Hamadi and Logan Mendez have netted three each. Mendez has also tallied three assists.

The lone blemish on the Omaha record is a 1-0 loss to Marquette (Sept. 11). The Mavericks also stunned No. 13 UC Irvine (1-0) earlier in the month and recently cracked the top-25 as of this week. 

IUPUI will be without senior captain Clint Hoffar as Hoffar received an unfortunate red card against Lipscomb last Sunday. Sophomore strikers Uriel Macias and Emmanuel Usen will also miss Saturday's match with injury concerns. 

"We are missing three major guys," Coach Jacob said. "We have four starters out. The good thing is that we have guys who have stepped up." 

Saturday's match at Michael A. Carroll Stadium will begin at 7 p.m. Admission is free while standard university parking rates may apply.