INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI women's soccer team dropped a critical home match to Denver on Sunday (Oct 2), falling by a 2-1 count to visiting Pioneers at the on-campus Michael A. Carroll Stadium. The Jags fell into a two-goal hole early in the second half and never fully recovered, despite outshooting the guests 12-10 overall and 6-4 on frame. 

Senior Catherine Raster netted her team-high seventh goal of the year in the early stages of the second half to account for the Jags' lone output. The loss snapped IUPUI's five-game home unbeaten streak to start the year while Denver improved to 5-7 overall and 2-0 in Summit League play. 

"It's awful," Head Coach Chris Johnson said. "There's so many different levels of disappointment in what happened out here. We came out fast, which is something we haven't done very much this year. I was very proud of the girls in how they came out of the gate, but we've got to finish opportunities.

"We've got to be able to protect the home turf in conference play, so now we've got to go out and get a couple wins on the road where it'll be tougher places to play. We've got to get points on the road and find a way to make that happen."

The Jags (7-5-1, 1-1 Summit) came out hot, but weren't rewarded for their efforts as multiple prime scoring chances went by the boards. Junior Hayley Shelton had a breakaway fly wide right in the game's second minute and Krissy Kirkhoff pinged a shot off the crossbar 61 seconds later. 

Denver was seemingly energized by IUPUI's inability to cash in and finally stole the game's momentum right before halftime with a well orchestrated combination. Hannah Adler and Makenzie Bothner worked together on an overlapping run near the endline before Bothner sent a pass across the Jags' six-yard box. DU's Jessie Dancy was on the receiving end and headed a shot past Catherine Schmidt for the game's first goal. 

The Pioneers put the Jags completely behind the eight ball in the 50th minute when Adler beat Schmidt to a ball near the top of the penalty box and toe poked a shot into the empty net. 

Forced to chase the game, the Jags cut the margin in half in the 62nd minute when Raster scored into an empty net. Shelton initiated the score with a pass to Kirkhoff, who sent the ball out wide left to Raster. With DU goalie Brittany Wilson beaten on the play, Raster was able to finish a left-footed shot into the empty goal from a near impossible angle. 

"I was proud of our girls in creating the opportunities we did and coming back and getting one of the goals back," Johnson said. "I was hoping we'd get a second back there too. We had a couple more chances."

However, the Denver defense helped kill the final 25-plus minutes, limiting the Jaguars to just one shot the rest of the way. 

Schmidt made two saves and Kirkhoff and Raster led the Jaguars' attack with three shots apiece. Adler led Denver with three shots off the bench. 

IUPUI will hit the road for the first time in Summit League play next Friday night (Oct. 7) when they face Fort Wayne at 7:00 p.m..