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CINCINNATI, Ohio - The IUPUI men's soccer team struck first but was unable to make it stand as the Jaguars lost at Cincinnati, 2-1 on Friday night (Sept. 1) inside Gettler Stadium. Sophomore Yan Souza netted his first career goal late in the first half to stake the Jaguars to a lead, but IUPUI (0-2) ultimately succumbed to the Bearcats as UC tallied twice early in the second half. UC's David Sanz netted the equalizer in the 56th minute and assisted on Austin Smythe's game-winner in the 63rd minute. 

"I was really pleased with the commitment to come out and compete from the opening whistle on the road," IUPUI Head Coach Brian Barnett said. "We earned a penalty in the first minute that was not converted, but that set the tone for the rest of the first half. We found the goal in the 35th minute of the game after digging and defending several corner kicks well."

Sophomore Pedro Valladao earned a penalty kick opportunity just 15 seconds into the match, but was unable to convert against UC keeper Pearce Skinner. IUPUI went empty on a rebound attempts as well as Alan Aguilar pushed a shot wide. 

IUPUI took its first lead of the season when Souza put home a rebound after Skinner stopped Valladao's initial attempt on goal in the 35th minute. Souza corralled the rebound and tucked a shot into the left side of the net for the Jags first tally of the year. 

UC (2-1) controlled the run of play to start the second half, getting even when Sanz drilled a shot from near the top of the 18 past redshirt freshman Michael Buck in the 56th minute. Just more than six minutes later, the hosts went ahead when Smythe took advantage of some miscommunication in the defensive end, allowing him a clean look on goal. 

"Cincinnati started the second half and got us under pressure right away with their athleticism and physicality, as expected," Barnett said. "Unfortunately, in a span of 10 minutes, their No. 8 scored a world class goal and they got one on a restart. Again, our guys did well to respond and create a flurry of chances down the stretch, but were unable to convert any into goals."

The Jags got attempts from freshmen Cameron Haegele and Seth Vang and a late header from junior Nick Anderson, but couldn't crack the UC defense. IUPUI trailed 14-8 in shots and 7-2 in corner kicks as Cincinnati had the better run of play for much of the match. 

However, Barnett was pleased as his young team continues to bond and gel. 

"Defending a lead and continuing to be perfect on defensive restarts are the lessons a young team must learn," Barnett said. "There is a collective progress from Bowling Green to Cincinnati. Our team has to stay focused and committed as we prepare for a tough Cleveland State opponent in our Horizon League opener."

Valladao had a team-high three shot attempts while Buck made three saves in net. 

IUPUI will now return home to host Cleveland State on Saturday night (Sept. 9) in the Jaguars' first Horizon League contest in any sport. There will be special pregame programming and giveaways in conjunction with the program's first-ever HL competition. For more information, check out IUPUIJags.com throughout the coming week.