Friday, Sept. 15 vs. Cleveland State - 7:00 p.m.: Live Stats I ESPN3 I Tickets
Sunday, Sept. 17 at Marian - 5:00 p.m.

INDIANAPOLIS - Winners of four straight, the IUPUI women's soccer team looks to keep the positive momentum going this weekend, beginning with the Horizon League opener on Friday night (Sept. 15) against Cleveland State. That match will kickoff at 7:00 p.m. and will be a celebration of sorts as Head Coach Chris Johnson's squad hosts its first-ever Horizon League competition. Admission is just $5 for adults and $2 for youth (ages 3-12). IUPUI students are admitted for FREE with a valid Crimson Card and the first 100 in attendance will receive a FREE ROAR t-shirt, courtesy of IUPUI Athletics. 

On the field, Johnson's team has been on a roll, winning four-in-a-row, all via shutout. The streak began with back-to-back 1-0 wins at Manhattan and Wagner, followed by home wins over Ball State (1-0) and Illinois State (3-0) at Carroll Stadium last weekend. Ball State is the preseason MAC favorite and Illinois State was an NCAA Tournament a season ago. Sophomore Sophia Lipka has been the star of stars recently, registering all four shutouts in goal, earning back-to-back Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week awards. In addition, she was voted #NCAASoccer Player of the Week this past week, edging foes from Washington, Alabama State and Georgetown in the social media voting. For the year, the Indianapolis-native has a 0.85 goals against average and .863 save percentage with five shutouts in eight starts. 

Offensively, freshman Valentine Pursey shouldered the load in the 3-0 win over Illinois State, scoring twice in 39 seconds in the second half, including the game-winner in the 53rd minute. Senior Hayley Shelton added some insurance in the 59th minute and classmate Krissy Kirkhoff contributed a pair of assists in the win. Two nights prior, freshman Miranda Ricks netted her first career goal in the win over Ball State off a Pursey assist to account for the night's scoring. 

For the season, Pursey leads IUPUI in goals (4), assists (3), points (11) and game-winning goals (3). Kirkhoff has two goals and two assists and a team-high 24 shot attempts while Shelton has a goal and two assists. Defensively, the back third has been exceptional with sophomore Jenna Sterr and freshman Natalie McNally earning praise among the group. Against Illinois State, sophomore Bri Denny and senior Leia Peterman earned starts as junior Becca Spitalniak and senior Sarah Jacobs missed the match due to injury. 

McNally leads the Jaguars' field players in minutes played (688) by a wide margin as Shelton is second at 618. 

QUOTABLE: "I thought we had a lot of kids step up today that hadn't started in games before. I thought in the first half, we did a good job of winning some balls in the middle of the field. We just couldn't quite connect the passes to get shots on goal. The patience with what we did in the first half and just kind of connecting a little better in the second half was the difference in the game," said Johnson after the Jaguars' 3-0 win over Illinois State. 

HONORS & AWARD: Lipka is a two-time Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week this season. She also earned #NCAASoccer Player of the Week honors for the week of Sept. 4-10. 

SCOUTING CLEVELAND STATE: Cleveland State (4-5, 0-0 Horizon) is 2-3 away from home this season, but is coming off a 3-0 home win over Niagara last weekend. As a team, freshman forward Jenna Prathapa has a team-high five goals and 11 points while both Grace Grant and McKenna Vento have two scores each. Junior forward Ashley Thiss has two of the team's six assists on the season. Defensively, Jamie Daniels has started all nine matches in net and has a 1.09 goals against average with 41 saves and three shutouts.   

SCOUTING MARIAN: Marian (4-2) is ranked No. 22 in NAIA and is riding a three-game winning streak. The Knights have outscored their opponents 27-7 this season led by Chloe Ulmer (5 goals, 2 assists) and Maria Farmer (3 goals, 5 assists). Kellie Cavanaugh has two of the team's four game-winning goals. Defensively, former Jaguar Catherine Schmidt has played the bulk of the team's minutes in goal with a 1.43 goals against average and 13 saves in her four appearances. As a team, Marian has a 1.17 GAA for the year. 

INSIDE THE SERIES-
vs. Cleveland State: IUPUI is 3-3 all-time against Cleveland State and lost the last two meetings in the series. The two schools haven't played since the 2012 season - a game won by CSU 5-1 in Indianapolis. The Jaguars are 2-1 in the three prior meetings in Indianapolis. 
vs. Marian: IUPUI is 2-0 all-time against Marian including an 8-0 victory at Carroll Stadium last season. In the two meetings, IUPUI has outscored the Knights 12-1 overall with a home and road win over the crosstown university. 

UP NEXT: IUPUI will play at Detroit on Saturday, Sept. 23 in Horizon League play at 4:00 p.m. Eastern.