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TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The IUPUI women's soccer team will cap non-conference play at Indiana State on Friday night (Sept. 25), kicking off against the Sycamores at 7:00 p.m.. IUPUI comes in having won two straight and is trying to finish the 10-game non-conference portion of the schedule above .500.

The Jaguars unloaded an offensive barrage last weekend in a pair of wins, outscoring Marian and Murray State by a combined 7-1 margin.  

JAGS GET OFFENSIVE
IUPUI hung a four-spot on Marian last Friday, getting goals from four different scorers. The quartet of Krissy Kirkhoff, Becca Spitalniak, Tori Minnich and Catherine Raster all scored, while four other Jags (Hayley Shelton, Jessica Flores, Alyssa Fox and Kirkhoff) all had assists. Kirkhoff finished the match with two assists. 

Two days later, IUPUI posted a 3-0 win over Murray State, getting scores from Grace Perkowitz, Kirkhoff and Minnich. For the second straight game, Kirkhoff also delivered a pair of assists, while Raster assisted on Kirkhoff's goal. 

CLEAN SHEET
Not to be overshadowed by the attack, the IUPUI defense put up its best effort of the season in blanking Murray State on Sunday. Sophomore goalie Catherine Schmidt earned her second shutout of the season while the defensive unit only yielded three shots on frame, not of which were dangerous. It was the Jaguars' first clean sheet since the season-opening draw against Eastern Illinois on Aug. 21.    

KIRKHOFF HONORED
After registering eight points (2 goals, 4 assists) in two games, Kirkhoff was named Summit League Offensive Player of the Week on Monday. She also earned Honorable Mention National Team of the Week honors from Top Drawer Soccer, which recognizes the nation's top 11 players in a given week. 

FIRST TIMERS
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.

GETTING HEALTHIER
Head Coach Chris Johnson's squad is slowly adding healthy pieces with the recent returns of Raster and Fox from injury. More recently, freshman Maryna Clark made her collegiate debut, coming off the bench in both matches last weekend. Clark, a key member of some exceptional Fishers High School teams, gives the Jaguars added depth up top. 

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
"We established our presence in the game from the very beginning and it was fantastic to see. The offense wasn't clicking as well as we'd like in the first half, but we really didn't give up anything dangerous because of how well we were challenging for and winning balls in the midfield. We kind of settled in a little bit better in the second half in terms of what we were trying to do." IUPUI Head Coach Chris Johnson said after the Murray State win. 

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 (392), followed by Purdue-transfer Brea'Anna Sanders (371) and Jessica Flores (338).  

NUMBERS
-Senior Lauren Kulaga has made 67 career starts and is well on her way to becoming the sixth player in school history to earn 70 career starts.
-Kirkhoff's six assists this season are already tied for the program's single-season record in that category. Her next helper will give her the record by herself. 
-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 (16) and points (37) while Kirkhoff is second in both 14 and 35. 
-IUPUI has seven players that have started all nine matches so far this season, but have had 16 players start at least two matches.
-Perkowitz leads the team's field players in minutes played with 637, followed closely by Kulaga (632) and Riedford (631).

AMONG THE LEADERS
Below is a look at where IUPUI players rank in The Summit League statistical leaders entering the weekend:
Goals: Kirkhoff (t-2nd / 5), Minnich (t-2nd / 5)
Assists: Kirkhoff (1st / 6), Shelton (t-5th / 3)
Points: Kirkhoff (2nd / 16), Minnich (3rd / 12) 
Shots: Kirkhoff (1st / 37), Minnich (8th / 20)
Game-Winners: Minnich (t-1st / 2), Perkowitz (t-3rd / 1), Spitalniak (t-3rd / 1)
Saves: Schmidt (5th / 44)
Save Percentage: (2nd / .830)
Goals Against Average: (3rd / 1.21)

SCOUTING THE JAGUARS
IUPUI is 4-4-1 on the season and 2-2 in true road games. Kirkhoff (5 goals, 6 assists) and Minnich (5 goals, 2 assists) lead the attack, but eight different players have scored at least one goal and 13 have at least one point. IUPUI is outscoring opponents 16-12 for the year, despite being outshot by nearly three shots per game. Defensively, IUPUI has a team goals against average of 1.73, keyed by Schmidt. Schmidt has a 1.21 GAA and 44 saves in nine starts in net. 

SCOUTING THE SYCAMORES
Indiana State is 4-5 overall on the season and 3-1 at home. Sydney Lovelace has seven of the Sycamores' 17 goals and is tied with Maddie Orf and Kate Johnson with a team-high three assists. Orf is second on the squad with four goals and five others have one score. The Sycamores are coming off a 6-0 win at Chicago State and also has non-conference wins over Belmont, Butler and Eastern Illinois.

Defensively, ISU goalie Brittany San Roman has a 1.81 GAA and 59 saves in nine games played.

SERIES RECORDS
IUPUI is 4-9-2 all-time against Indiana State and hasn't beaten the Sycamores since a 3-0 outcome in Terre Haute in 2009. Last season the two teams played to a 3-3 double overtime draw in Indianapolis as Minnich scored three second half goals to bring the Jaguars even. IUPUI is 0-4-1 in the last five meetings between the two schools and 2-5 in the seven matchups in Terre Haute.   

UP NEXT
IUPUI is scheduled to open Summit League play at home against Fort Wayne on Sunday, Oct. 4 at 1:00 p.m. at Michael A. Carroll Stadium. Admission is free while standard university parking rates may apply.