Live Stats I ESPN3 Video I Horizon League Championship Central

MILWAUKEE, Wisc. - Survive and advance. It's a common phrase in college athletics, particularly when it comes to postseason play. For the IUPUI women's soccer team, that phrase was reality as the Jaguars needed penalty kicks on Monday night (Oct. 30) to survive and advance to a Horizon League Tournament Semifinals matchup with Northern Kentucky (9-5-2) on Thursday evening (Nov. 2) at 5:00 p.m. Eastern in Milwaukee. The winner will face the winner of Milwaukee and Wright State on Saturday night (Nov. 4) for an automatic bid into the 2017 NCAA Tournament. 

The entire Horizon League Tournament will be streamed on ESPN3 as Andrew Kappes (pxp) is on the call. 

IUPUI (13-5-2) dominated the run of play to get past Cleveland State on Monday night, but needed all the adjectives - gritty, gutty, tough, determined - to extend the season. Freshman Valentine Pursey netted the equalizer in the 79th minute and sophomore goalkeeper Sophia Lipka set the tone in PK's, stopping the Vikings' first and last attempts of the evening. The Jaguars were a clean 4-for-4 on their attempts as Miranda Ricks, Hayley Shelton, Sarah Jacobs and Braegan Lyon all took care of business. It capped an evening in which IUPUI fired a school record 37 shots and earned 18 corner kicks. Senior Krissy Kirkhoff nearly outshot the Vikings on her own, getting eight attempts to CSU's nine. 

On the stat sheet, IUPUI has remained winless over the last four games, earning two draws and a pair of losses. However, their season continues while many are watching from home. Pursey leads the attack with 10 goals and three assists and Kirkhoff has six goals and a school record 10 assists. Shelton has been tremendous in the midfield with four goals and eight assists while Ricks and Jessica Flores have three goals apiece. 

In goal, Lipka, the 2017 Horizon League Goalkeeper of the Year, sits with a 0.66 goals against average and .869 save percentage in her 16 starts, logging a 11-3-2 record. In front of her, freshman Natalie McNally was named to the league's All-Freshman Team and ranked among the league's top backs this season. The Illinois-native logged a team-high 1,733 minutes on the field. 

QUOTABLE: "It felt really good to give my team that confidence they needed and the confidence I needed by stopping the first one. It was nice [to stop the first one]," Lipka said of her heroics in PK's on Monday. 

SIX JAGS COLLECT ALL-LEAGUE ACCOLADES: Lipka and Kirkhoff led IUPUI's postseason honorees, collecting First Team All-Horizon League ballots while Shelton was voted Second Team. The rookie trio of McNally, Pursey and Ricks were voted to the All-Freshman Team. 

JACOBS AND SHELTON HONORED: On the final day of the regular season, seniors Sarah Jacobs and Hayley Shelton learned they had both been voted Academic All-Horizon League by the league's faculty athletic representatives. 

THE FIRST MEETING: IUPUI and Northern Kentucky played to one of the most exciting finishes in the Horizon League this season in a 1-1 draw in the regular season finale. With postseason implications on the line, IUPUI went ahead in the 83rd minute on a Pursey strike, only to see NKU's Macy Hamblin drill an equalizer in the 85th minute. Here are links to coverage from that contest: Recap I Box Score

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 enters the postseason with 79 career points (29 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 19. She is third on the program's all-time list in goals scored (29), trailing only Hock (32) and Karrie Reising (31). 

TEAM ACADEMIC AWARD: IUPUI captured the program's eighth straight United Soccer Coaches (formerly NSCAA) Team Academic Award on 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 NKU: NKU finished the regular season at 9-5-2 overall and 6-1-2 in Horizon League play, earning the No. 2 seed and a first round bye in the league tournament. NKU's Macy Hamblin (10 goals, 3 assists) earned HL Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year honors for the third straight season and was joined on the all-league teams by Jessica Frey (10 goals, 4 assists) and Taylor Spaulding (1 assist). NKU outscored opponents 30-17 on the season and notched three shutouts. In goal, Emily Lohmann played the bulk of the minutes, posting a 0.92 GAA and .827 save percentage in her 15 appearances. 

INSIDE THE SERIES: IUPUI is 0-1-1 all-time against Northern Kentucky with the draw earlier this season.

UP NEXT: IUPUI hopes to move to the Horizon League Championship on Saturday night (Nov. 4) with a win over the Norse. Should that be the case, IUPUI would play either host Milwaukee or Wright State at 7:00 p.m. Eastern on ESPN3.