Box Score (.html) I Box Score (.pdf) I Photo Gallery I Highlights I Ricks Postgame I Lipka Postgame I Johnson Postgame

INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI women's soccer team registered its third straight shutout on Friday night (Sept. 8) as the Jaguars blanked Ball State at the on-campus Michael A. Carroll Stadium. The freshman duo of Miranda Ricks and Valentine Pursey combined on the lone score of the evening in the 70th minute to send the Jags to a third straight victory. 

Sophomore goalkeeper Sophia Lipka turned in a career-high 12 saves, including a highlight reel stop in the closing minutes, to improve to 4-3 on the season. 

IUPUI (4-3) was equal parts lucky and good after playing Ball State (1-5-1) evenly in a scoreless first half. Ball State had the better run of play, outshooting the Jaguars 10-4 in the first half and 18-9 for the game, but those numbers ultimately didn't matter. BSU's Amanda Shaw had a header ping off the far post in the 15th minute and the guests continued to pound the Jaguars with shot attempts from a variety of angles and distances. The Jaguars' best look of the first half came off the foot of Leia Peterman, who squared a ball up right at BSU goalkeeper Alyssa Heintschel from the left flank. 

The second half saw the Jags come out with a little more fire, culminating in early shot attempts from seniors Krissy Kirkhoff and Sarah Jacobs. At the other end, Lipka continued her habit of stonewalling shots to keep her team in the match. 

The breakthrough came just after the midpoint of the second half as Ricks and Pursey teamed on a gorgeous combination for the former's first collegiate score. Ricks found Pursey's feet and overlapped a run in behind her, allowing the Jaguars' top scorer to spring her free with a lead pass. From there, Ricks angled a left-footed shot past BSU netminder Tristin Stuteville and inside the near post. 

Lipka and the Jaguars' defense made the one goal stand, facing heat up until the final horn. Lipka's best save of the night came in the 88th minute when Paula Guerrero hit a bullet through traffic after a BSU corner kick. The reigning Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week sprawled to her right to knock the ball down and then scrambled to her feet to boot the ball over the far touch line for a throw-in, capping off her 12-save performance. 

Lipka has now made 22 consecutive saves without yielding a goal and played 270 consecutive scoreless minutes in net. The sophomore lowered her goals against average to 0.97 while upping her save percentage to .854 on the season. 

Offensively, Kirkhoff had a team-high three shot attempts while Jacobs and Peterman had two each. Shaw led Ball State with five attempts, three of which were on target. 

IUPUI will continue the homestand on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 10) when the Jaguars host Illinois State at 1:00 p.m. at Carroll Stadium. Tickets are just $5 and $2 for youth (ages 3-12) while IUPUI students are admitted for FREE with a valid JagTag. Those unable to attend can watch the match on ESPN3 as Morgan Adcock (pxp) calls the action.