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MILWAUKEE, Wisc. - The IUPUI women's soccer team will take on Milwaukee (12-0-3, 4-0-2 Horizon) in a heavy hitting Wednesday night (Oct. 18) match at 5:00 p.m. Eastern at UWM's Engelmann Stadium. IUPUI (13-3, 6-0 Horizon) comes into Wednesday's contest riding the nation's second-longest winning streak with 12 straight victories. IUPUI is atop the Horizon League standings at 6-0 while Milwaukee is third at 4-0-2 in league play. Northern Kentucky is between the two at 5-0-1 so far this season.
The Jags continued to take care of business this past weekend, outgunning Wright State 4-3 on Friday before picking off Fort Wayne 2-1 in a non-conference contest on Sunday. Senior
Krissy Kirkhoff was named Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week after totaling a pair of goals and three assists in the two wins while freshman striker
Valentine Pursey had the program's eighth-ever hat trick in the 4-3 win over WSU. Freshman goalkeeper
Skylar England collected both wins in net, starting in place of an injured
Sophia Lipka.
IUPUI has been brilliant during the 12-game winning streak, outscoring foes 23-6 overall with eight shutouts. Offensively, the Jaguars have scored at least two goals in the most recent five matches.
Kirkhoff leads the team with 20 points (5 goals, 10 assists) and 58 shot attempts while Pursey has a team-high eight goals and five game-winners. Senior
Hayley Shelton has a disruptive force in the midfield with four goals and seven assists while
Jessica Flores and
Miranda Ricks have three scores each.
Defensively, Lipka has a 0.63 goals against average with 62 saves in her 14 starts, which includes a school record nine shutouts. England has a 2.00 GAA and seven saves in her two starts in net.
Freshman back
Natalie McNally continues to lead the Jags with 1,344 minutes played in the defensive third. She and sophomore
Jenna Sterr are the only two Jaguars to start all 16 matches along the back line.
QUOTABLE: "I was a little nervous at first, but now I'm starting to mesh with the team and starting to get some confidence now. All I knew, once I got cleared (to play), I didn't want to take anything else for granted, so I just worked harder than I ever did," said England after the Jaguars' 2-1 win over Fort Wayne, improving her personal record to 2-0.
HAT TRICKS: Pursey posted the eighth hat trick in school history in the 4-3 win over Wright State and is the seventh player in school history to score three goals in a game. That list includes Sarah Leonard, Karrie Reising (twice), Cat Raster, Tori Minnich, Kirkhoff and Tara Latella. It was the first hat trick by an IUPUI player in league play since Sarah Leonard scored three goals against Youngstown State in October 2001.
KIRKHOFF TAKES OVER: Kirkhoff recently took over as the program's all-time points leader with her two-goal performance against Fort Wayne. The Indianapolis-native now has 77 career points (28 goals, 21 assists), surpassing the previous mark of 74 held by Megan Hock (2008-11). Kirkhoff also holds the program's all-time record for assists (21) while Shelton is currently second all-time with 18.
TEAM ACADEMIC AWARD: IUPUI captured the program's eighth straight United Soccer Coaches (formerly NSCAA) Team Academic Award on Thursday (Oct. 5). It's the 12th time in program history the Jags have been recognized and the program's 3.72 grade point average ranked third among the nation's Division I programs.
SCOUTING MILWAUKEE: Milwaukee has been among the nation's elite this season, posting a 12-0-3 mark and outscoring opponents 33-4 for the season. The Panthers are 5-0-2 at home, which includes a win over No. 19 Marquette. Anna Smalley leads Milwaukee with 21 points (8 goals, 5 assists) and Aubrey Krahn is next in line with 18 points (7 goals, 4 assists). Lourdes Onwuemeka and Jen Eberhardy have a team-high seven assists on the year. In goal, Mallory Geurts is among the nation's best with a 0.26 goals against average and .918 save percentage in her 15 starts with 11 shutouts. Milwaukee is outshooting opponents by nearly eight attempts per contest for the year.
INSIDE THE SERIES: Wednesday's match will be the first-ever meeting between IUPUI and Milwaukee in women's soccer.
UP NEXT: IUPUI will take on Oakland University on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 21) at 1:00 p.m. in a match broadcast on ESPN3.
