PONTIAC, Mich. - After an extended layoff due to COVID-19 protocols, the IUPUI women's soccer team will return to action on Wednesday (Feb. 24) when the Jaguars trek north to face Detroit Mercy at noon inside the UWM Sports Complex (formerly Ultimate Soccer Arenas). There will be no live streaming of Wednesday's contest.
The Jags last played on Feb. 3 when IUPUI (1-0, 1-0 HL) opened the campaign with an impressive 1-0 victory over Cleveland State.
Autumn Weeks netted the game's lone score in the 58th minute and redshirt sophomore
AP Woodall dialed up a shutout.
Kamryn Benscoter provided the service on the game's lone score. Head coach
Chris Johnson was limited to just 13 players in the opener, but should have his full roster at his disposal going forward.
SCOUTING THE JAGUARS
IUPUI's lone game of the season was the 1-0 victory over Cleveland State as the Jaguars outshot CSU 7-6 and on target, 5-4.
Valentine Pursey and
Elizabeth Bueckers paced the IUPUI attack with two shot attempts each with each putting both on target. Weeks tallied the game-winner in the 58th minute for her fourth career score. Woodall recorded her fourth career shutout and was later named #HLWSOC Defensive Player of the Week.
PRESEASON POLLS
IUPUI was picked to finish second according to the #HLWSOC Preseason Poll released on Feb. 1, trailing only Milwaukee. The Jags went 12-7-1 last season and 6-3 in Horizon League play.
#HLWSOC STANDINGS
RETURNING STARTERS (8)
Elizabeth Bueckers - Jr., MF/F - (5 goals, 1 assist, 2 GWG)
Maya Lacognato - Soph., F - (6 goals, 2 assists, 2 GWG)
Natalie McNally - Sr., D - (2 goals, 1 assist)
Valentine Pursey - Sr., MF/F - (8 goals, 6 assists, 4 GWG)
Miranda Ricks - Sr., MF - (2 goals, 2 assists, 1 GWG)
Morgan Rymer - Sr., MF - (1 assist)
Jillian Steinbrink - Sr., D - (1 goal, 2 assists, 1 GWG)
Autumn Weeks - So., MF/D - (3 goals, 1 GWG)
HONOREES AND LEADERS
Pursey was a first team All-Horizon League selection last season while Lacognato and departed senior goalkeeper Sophia Lipka were voted to the second team. Lacognato, Weeks and
AP Woodall were voted to the All-Freshman Team as IUPUI had a league-best three All-Freshman Team selections. Pursey was fourth in the league with 0.40 goals per game last season and third in the league with 1.10 points per game. Woodall, albeit in limited action, ranked second in the league with a 0.60 goals against average while Lipka was fourth at 1.18. Lipka was third in the league at 4.69 saves per game and had four shutouts.
ON THE SIDELINES
Head coach
Chris Johnson enters his 18th season on the IUPUI sidelines, easily ranking as the longest tenured current head coach among any of the Jaguars' sports. Johnson has 127 career wins on the IUPUI sidelines and 208 in his college head coaching career dating back to the University of Indianapolis where he began coaching in 1994.
NEW FACES
IUPUI has seven new faces on the roster this year in true freshmen
Emma Antoine,
Jessica Jacobs,
Emma Manolovic,
Leah Shumate,
Sam Slimak,
Alex Stocker and
Carlie Werner. The group represents four different states (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio) as Antoine (Carmel), Jacobs (Castle) and Werner (Batesville) were in-state recruits.
SCOUTING DETROIT MERCY
Detroit Mercy has opened the year at 1-1 with a home win over Youngstown State (2-1) and a road loss at Wright State (1-2). Erica Toupin, Julie Ann Piechocki and Olivia Parra have accounted for the Titans three goals while Paige Myers has the team's lone assist. Piechocki netted UDM's game-winner at Youngstown State in the season opener. Toupin leads the Titans attack with nine shot attempts, having put six on target. Collectively, Detroit Mercy has outshot opponents by a 32-22 margin and 17-13 edge on goal. In goal, Marisa Silver has played all 180 minutes and has a 1.50 goals against average and 10 saves in her two starts.
VERSUS THE TITANS (see the entire history here)
IUPUI is 5-6-3 all-time against Detroit Mercy following the 2019 3-0 road win over the Titans.
Valentine Pursey netted the game-winner in the 19th minute and
Maya Lacognato added insurance goals in the 50th and 51st minutes, both off assists from
Renae Blevins. IUPUI is 4-4 in the eight meetings on the road in Detroit.
SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN
The Horizon League will compete in a weekly, single round robin format this season, beginning with the Feb. 3 matchups. Teams will play each Wednesday for eight weeks before finishing league play on Tuesday, Mar. 30 and Monday, Apr. 5. The Jags will host matches with Cleveland State (Feb. 3), Robert Morris (Feb. 17), Wright State (Mar. 10), UIC (Mar. 17) and Northern Kentucky (Mar. 30) and face Detroit Mercy (Feb. 24), Milwaukee (Mar. 3), Youngstown State (Mar. 24) and Purdue Fort Wayne (Apr. 5) on the road. The Jaguars' Feb. 10 match at Green Bay has already been canceled due to COVID-19 protocols.
ESPN COVERAGE
All five of IUPUI's home matches will be aired on ESPN platforms (either ESPN3 or ESPN+) this season. In addition, selected road matches will also be aired on ESPN platforms at the host schools' discretion.
