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INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI women's soccer team will hit the road for the first time on Monday night (Aug. 20) when the Jaguars take on crosstown rival Butler at 7:00 p.m. at BU's Sellick Bowl. The Jaguars are coming off a 2-0 shutout win of Marian University in the season opener, thanks to goals from
Braegan Lyon and
Jessi Cowen. Junior goalkeeper
Sophia Lipka recorded the shutout in goal, including stopping a penalty kick in the first half.
Emma Chambers,
Miranda Ricks and
Natalie McNally collected assists for the Jaguars in the win.
IUPUI outshot the Knights 23-5 overall, paced by five attempts from McNally.
The 2-0 win over Marian gave the Jaguars a season-opening win for just the second-time ever under head coach
Chris Johnson. Johnson's 2016 team also won its season-opener, defeating Valparaiso 2-0 to kickoff a 9-7-3 season.
QUOTABLE
"It was surreal. It felt like I was at practice, honestly. [Miranda] bodied the girl off and we made eye contact and got it to me and I took the shot," Cowen said of her first career goal.
WHO'S BACK? - RETURNING STARTERS
MF -
Jessica Flores (3 goals, 1 assist)
GK -
Sophia Lipka (0.90 GAA, 10 shutouts)
D/MF -
Natalie McNally (team-high 2,018 minutes in 2018)
F -
Valentine Pursey (13 goals, 3 assists)
F -
Miranda Ricks (3 goals, 2 assists)
D -
Becca Spitalniak (senior owns 38 career starts)
D -
Jenna Sterr (started all 23 games as a sophomore)
HEAD MAN
Johnson enters his 16th season at the helm of the program and has led the Jaguars to two NCAA Tournament appearances (2009 & 2017). He won his 100th game on the IUPUI sidelines last season and is 10 victories shy of 200 for his college coaching career (108 at IUPUI, 81 at UIndy). The past three years, Johnson's teams have amassed a 24-13-6 (.628) record and .618 winning percentage in league play.
PICKED SECOND
IUPUI was recently picked to finish second in the Horizon League, including collecting three first-place votes as the league announced the preseason polls. Milwaukee collected the top spot while the Jaguars trailed the Panthers by just seven points in the voting. IUPUI shocked the Panthers in the Horizon League Championship game last season, playing MKE to a double overtime draw before advancing on penalty kicks.
NOTABLE NEWCOMER
Freshman
Grace Bammer saw time off the Jaguars' bench against Marian, totaling 14 minutes for the Jaguars. She was one of just three freshmen to see time in the opener, joined by
Elizabeth Bueckers and
Megan Wurth, both of whom started.
ON THE SCOUT
Butler is 1-0 on the year after having opened with a 3-1 win at Kent State, thanks to a pair of goals from Anja Savich. The Bulldogs outshot KSU 18-3 overall and 7-2 on frame. A season ago, Butler went 13-2-6 and an undefeated 9-0-2 at home for the year. Paige Monaghan ranks among the nation's top forwards and is coming off a 10-goal, 6-assist campaign.
NATIONAL PROGRAMMING
Five of the Jaguars' home matches will be seen across ESPN platforms, beginning with the Sept. 9 showdown with Evansville on ESPN+. The Jags will have three home matches aired on ESPN+ while two others will be broadcast on ESPN3.
UP NEXT
IUPUI will hit the road to face Murray State on Friday, Aug. 24 at 3:00 p.m.. The Jaguars will cap the two-game trip on Sunday when they face Eastern Kentucky on Sunday at 1:00 p.m..