TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - The IUPUI women's soccer team extended its winning streak to three on Friday night (Sept. 25) with a hard earned 2-1 win at Indiana State. The win snapped a five-game winless streak against the Sycamores and was IUPUI's first victory over ISU since 2009. The Jaguars' dynamic duo of Krissy Kirkhoff and Tori Minnich each scored first half goals and sophomore goalie Catherine Schmidt made four saves in the win. 

"We came out fast and had a pretty good start to the game," IUPUI Head Coach Chris Johnson said. "We kind of had to hold on late as they had a little more energy than us at the end of the match, but the girls did a good job of getting the result."

"Getting a big win like this going into conference is great," Minnich said. "This was a physical game just like all of our conference games will be. We just need to work hard all week at practice to continue this winning streak."

ISU (4-6) outshot the Jaguars 24-10 and earned a 9-0 advantage in corner kicks, but IUPUI (5-4-1) put a premium on quality over quantity on Friday.

Kirkhoff came out determined, staking IUPUI to a lead in the game's fifth minute on an unassisted score. After misfiring wide right and having another shot blocked in the opening minutes, Kirkhoff's third attempt hit the hands of ISU goalie Brittany San Roman, but trickled over the endline for her team-high sixth goal of the season. 

The lead was short lived though as the Sycamores would get even in the 17th minute. In the second of two corner kick opportunities, Maggie Richard scored her first goal of the season off a Maddie Schaak assist, knotting the score. Richard redirected Schaak's drive, angling it just inside the left post past a diving Schmidt. 

However, IUPUI had an immediate and eventual game-winning answer 59 seconds later. 

This time, sophomore Hayley Shelton juked a defender near midfield before playing a brilliant through ball to Minnich, splitting the Sycamores back line. Minnich did the rest, carrying the ball to goal before rolling a shot past Sam Roman, who was closing off her back line. It was Minnich's team-high third game-winner of the season while Shelton earned her fourth assist of the campaign. 

IUPUI took the 2-1 lead to the locker room, but weathered an Indiana State storm in the second half to escape victorious. The Sycamores outshot IUPUI 17-5 in the second half, including two near miss opportunities. 

In the 66th minute, Sydney Loesing pinged a shot off the crossbar back onto the field of play before it was cleared out by an IUPUI defender. Just more than two minutes later, ISU's Elle Steele put a header on frame, only to have it cleared off the line by freshman Jessica Flores. The Jaguars showed mettle down the stretch, successfully killing the clock and limiting ISU to only shots from distance.

Johnson specifically lauded the efforts of a number of players on Friday, including freshman Braegan Lyon and a group of midfielders that included Flores and senior Meghan Day. 

"Braegan was really impressive in terms of shutting them down and getting us involved in the attack," Johnson said.

Loesing and Kirkhoff finished with a game-high five shot attempts while Kalli Shepler-Tucker had two tries for the Jaguars. 

The Jaguars will now have a nine-day break between matches, giving some much needed rest heading into Summit League play. 

"This group of girls has a chance to do something really special as long as we don't take anything for granted and continue to work hard everyday," Johnson said.

IUPUI will return home on Sunday, Oct. 4 when they host Fort Wayne in their Summit League opener at 1:00 p.m. at Michael A. Carroll Stadium. Admission is free of charge although standard university parking rates may apply.