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INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI men's soccer team will host the department's first Horizon League competition in any sport on Saturday night (Sept. 9) when the Jaguars host Cleveland State at 7:00 p.m. at the on-campus Michael A. Carroll Stadium. The festive evening will include an alumni get together, pregame recognition of dignitaries in attendance and the first ESPN3 broadcast of the men's soccer season. 

In addition, FREE #JagsROAR t-shirts will be distributed to the first 100 students in attendance. Tickets are just $5 for adults and $2 for youth (ages 3-12). Like always, IUPUI students are admitted for FREE with a valid Crimson Card. 

Head Coach Brian Barnett's team has shown well in the opening two matches of the season, but has yet to get a result. The Jags opened with a 2-0 loss at Bowling Green and followed with a 2-1 loss to Cincinnati last weekend. Sophomore Yan Souza has the team's lone score of the season while classmate Pedro Valladao collected the assist on the goal. In net, redshirt freshman Michael Buck has started both matches, notching three saves in the two defeats. 

"The team has put together a great week of training since the Cincinnati match," Barnett said. "Given the break, we were able to get some full-sided match play in. Defensively, we're looking to win more balls in our attacking half of the field so we're not having to defend quite as much. We're continuing to make progress as a team in the attack in terms of generating true offensive chances. That'll be bolstered with the return of Sean Siasia and Uriel Macias as both will likely see minutes on Saturday night. 

"We have a goal of an undefeated record at home, so hopefully we can come out and get a result against a quality league opponent to start the conference season."

Barnett boasts one of the nation's youngest teams as there are just eight upperclassmen on the roster. Of that group, Harold Agyeman-Prempeh and Sam Gavin missed all of last season due to injury and three others - Joshua Ayala, Macias and Siasia - have yet to debut this season. Agyeman-Prempeh, Gavin and true freshman Tommy Patacca have yet to come off the field this season in the defensive third while junior Nick Anderson also ranks among the team leaders in minutes played.

True freshman Seth Vang leads the team with four shot attempts and Valladao has three attempts, including two on goal.

Quotable: "Defending a lead and continuing to be perfect on defensive restarts are the lessons a young team must learn. 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," Barnett said after his Jaguars' 2-1 loss to Cincinnati on Sept. 2. 

Scouting Cleveland State: Cleveland State (1-3, 0-0 Horizon) has dropped three straight since a season-opening 3-1 win over Robert Morris. Since then, the Vikings have dropped matches at Bowling Green, Michigan and No. 13 Michigan State in succession. Lawrence Karpeh leads CSU with three points while Noah Pio has attempted a team-high 11 shots and tallied the team's lone game-winner. In goal, Sebastian Kalk has played all 360 minutes, recording a 1.75 goals against average and .611 save percentage, making 11 stops overall. 

Inside the Series: IUPUI is 3-0-1 all-time against Cleveland State and won the last two meetings between the two sides. The two teams haven't met since the Jaguars defeated the Vikings, 1-0, on Oct. 19, 2011. Two of the four meetings have gone to overtime - a double overtime draw in 2009 and a 2-1 IUPUI win in 2010. IUPUI is 1-0-1 in the prior two meetings in Indianapolis.