at Murray State: Live Stats
at Eastern Kentucky: Live Stats

MURRAY, Ky. - The IUPUI women's soccer team will head south this weekend for a two-game trip, beginning at Murray State on Friday (Aug. 24). The Jaguars will take on the Racers at 3:00 p.m. before heading to Eastern Kentucky for a Sunday kickoff. It marks the first time this season the Jaguars have left the city after having opened with a home win over Marian and then a road loss at Butler. 

IUPUI (1-1) was overmatched by the Bulldogs in being outshot 26-3 after having outshot Marian by a similar margin in the season-opener. However, the Jaguars were in the match until Butler tallied some late insurance in the 83rd minute to cap a 2-0 win. Junior goalkeeper Sophia Lipka was brilliant, registering eight saves in the loss. In the opener, senior Braegan Lyon and sophomore Jessi Cowen accounted for the goals while Miranda Ricks, Emma Chambers and Natalie McNally turned in assists. Lipka recorded a 2-0 shutout, including stopping a Marian penalty kick in the first half. 

Head coach Chris Johnson has consistently praised his back third for much of the season's early going, despite having to shuffle bodies due to injuries. McNally leads the team with 164 minutes played in the midfield while the group of backs that includes Lyon, Becca Spitalniak and Jenna Sterr have anchored the group in front of Lipka. 

QUOTABLE
"Being on the road is tough so getting a win would boost our confidence and fuel the momentum," Spitalniak said of the Jaguars' trip to Kentucky.   
 
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 (109 at IUPUI, 81 at UIndy). The past three years, Johnson's teams have amassed a 24-14-6 (.614) 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 Renae Blevins earned her first career start at Butler and has attempted two shots from her midfield position. She's one of three freshmen to have started a match this season, joining Elizabeth Bueckers and Megan Wurth.  

ON THE SCOUT
Murray State
Murray State has opened the season with back-to-back home wins over Western Kentucky (1-0) and Horizon League foe Northern Kentucky (2-1) in overtime. Miyah Watford has a pair of goals and midfielder Abby Jones has played a role in all three Murray State goals this season, having scored one and assisted on two others. She was named the OVC's Co-Offensive Player of the Week for the opening week of the season. Defensively, senior goalkeeper Alex Steigerwald has played every second in goal, totaling eight saves and a 0.50 goals against average to start the season. 

Eastern Kentucky
EKU is 1-1 to start the season having lost at Cincinnati (1-2) before rebounding to defeat East Tennessee State (3-1). Erin Torrence has a pair of goals for the Colonels, including the game-winner against ETSU. In goal, Billie Clark has played the bulk of the minutes with a 2.00 goals against average and nine saves while Zoe Aguirre earned the win against ETSU by authoring a scoreless half of soccer. 

SERIES RECORDS
IUPUI is 3-4-1 all-time against Murray State, having last faced the Racers on Sept. 19, 2014 in a 3-1 road loss. 
Last year marked the first ever meeting between IUPUI and Eastern Kentucky as the Colonels captured a 3-2 overtime win in Indianapolis. The Jags proceeded to win 12 straight after that loss. 

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
Following the two-game trip, IUPUI will be back on the road to play Eastern Illinois (Aug. 31) and Toledo (Sept. 2) next weekend.