INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI men's soccer team will look to get off the schneid on Thursday (Mar. 18) when the Jaguars host Wright State (2-2-1) at 2:00 p.m. at Carroll Stadium. Thursday's contest will be broadcast on ESPN3 as Jonathan Matthes will be on the call. In-person attendance to Thursday's contest will be limited to player guests and those individuals are encouraged to check out the department's attendance policy prior to the contest.
Head coach Brian Barnett's club looks to break a four-game skid to open the spring season following last week's road loss at Detroit Mercy. In two of the four matches, IUPUI has scored first but been unable to hold on for victories.
At UDM, junior
Anthony Saporito delivered his first career score on a free kick, but saw the Titans tally twice after halftime in the come-from-behind victory. Saporito scored in the game's 31st minute, but UDM scored twice in a four-minute span in the second half and outshot the Jaguars 11-4 after halftime on its home pitch.
QUOTABLE
"It's frustrating to come up on the losing side of yet another game. Credit Detroit Mercy for applying a good amount of offensive pressure in the second half from down 1-0 to take the lead, and as expected, remain defensively stout to close the game. We quite frankly did not and do not generate enough dangerous goal scoring opportunities to win games right now and we need to be better," Barnett said following the loss at Detroit Mercy.
DEEPER DIVE
Read about how Barnett's initial recruiting class has helped change the culture and narrative surrounding the program -
BARNETT'S FIRST RECRUITING CLASS CHANGING THE FACE OF IUPUI SOCCER
SCOUTING THE JAGUARS
IUPUI is 0-4 overall and 0-2 at home with losses having come to Purdue Fort Wayne (0-2) and Northern Kentucky (0-2). Saporito and
Matthew Skaar pace the IUPUI attack with a goal apiece while
Chris Workman has the team's lone assist. Skaar has a team-high eight shot attempts while
Tommy Patacca and
Gianni Catenacci have six each. In goal,
Lucas Morefield has started three of IUPUI's four contests and has a 2.00 goals against average and .667 save percentage in his 270 minutes.
Quinn McCallion started the opener and yielded two goals and made two stops. The defensive trio of
Ethan Diedel,
Corey Goede and
Tommy Patacca have yet to come off the field this season and
Riley Shives has played 335 of the team's 360 minutes.
PRESEASON POLLS
IUPUI was picked to finish ninth among the 11-team #HLMSOC Preseason Poll.
#HLMSOC STANDINGS
RETURNING STARTERS (7)
Gianni Catenacci - Sr. - D (1 goal, 4 assists)
Ethan Diedel - Jr. - D (17 appearances, 11 starts)
Corey Goede - Jr. - D (15 starts)
Caleb Hussain - Soph. - D (13 starts)
Quinn McCallion - Jr. - GK (1.84 GAA, 84 saves)
Tommy Patacca - Sr. - D (3 goals, 1 GWG)
Chris Workman - Soph. - MF (1 goal)
HONOREES AND LEADERS
Workman was the lone IUPUI player to earn postseason accolades last season, being named to the 11-man All-Freshman Team. Workman appeared in 16 games and made 13 starts in the midfield while tallying a goal at Northern Kentucky in front of a large contingent of family and friends. Workman was fourth among IUPUI's field players with 1,280 minutes played and played 90 or more minutes seven different times.
ON THE SIDELINES
Head coach Brian Barnett is in his fifth year on the Jaguars' sidelines, having taken over the program just prior to the 2016 campaign. He led the team to the #HLMSOC Tournament Semifinals in 2018 before falling to eventual league champion UIC on penalty kicks. Barnett is joined on the sidelines by John Schwien, who enters his first year with the program.
NEW FACES
IUPUI has six new faces on the roster this year in true freshmen
Rayan Choukri,
Mandela Cybahiro,
Max Guidry,
Logan Finnegan,
Owen Jarrell and
Tyler Kaput. Choukri and Cybahiro were teammates for Millennium Indy and Finnegan, Jarrell and Kaput were all three teammates for Galaxy SC. Four other Jaguars -
Tylin Broaders,
Nate Pendleton,
Lucas Morefield and
Ethan Miller - are all in line to make their IUPUI debuts after redshirting last season.
SCOUTING WRIGHT STATE
Wright State is 2-2-1 on the year and 1-1 on the road, owning an early season 3-2 overtime victory at Detroit Mercy. In its most recent outing, the Raiders played Oakland to a 2-2 draw on Mar. 6. Wright State has scored eight goals and yielded eight goals this season while outshooting opponents by almost four attempts per game. Joe Kouadio leads Wright State with three goals and Alex Hummel has two scores. Three different Raiders have a team-high two assists on the year. In goal, Sebastian Jimenez has played the bulk of the team's minutes and owns a 1.31 goals against average and 15 saves.
VERSUS THE RAIDERS (see the entire history here)
IUPUI is 3-17 all-time against Wright State and dropped seven straight to the Raiders. The Jaguars last win over WSU came on Oct. 26, 2010 at Park Tudor High School. WSU won the most recent meeting, 6-1 on Nov. 8, 2019 at Carroll Stadium. IUPUI is 3-7 all-time at home against Wright State.
SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN
The Horizon League will compete in a weekly, single round robin format this season that began on Feb. 3. Games will be played every six days.
