INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI women's soccer team will host Northern Kentucky (5-1-1, 5-0-1 HL) in a battle of Horizon League unbeatens on Tuesday (Mar. 30) at 1:00 p.m. at the on-campus Michael A. Carroll Stadium. Tuesday's regular season home finale will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the senior class will be recognized immediately following the contest. Fan attendance will be limited to player guests only and those planning to attend are encouraged to read the department's attendance policy before attending. 

IUPUI (4-0-2) continues to rank among the nation's elite, having posted five shutouts in six contests and having yielded just two goals all season. The most recent chapter came in bizarre fashion as freshman forward Carlie Werner was pressed into starting goalkeeper duty with both AP Woodall and Emily McGrath sidelined due to COVID-19 protocols. Werner responded with a shutout, blanking Youngstown State in a 0-0 double overtime draw last Wednesday. IUPUI outshot YSU 23-4 and had a 14-2 margin on corner kicks, but was unable to get a shot past the Penguins keeper. For the year, the IUPUI defense has a 0.31 goals against average and .923 save percentage in six contests. 

Offensively, senior Valentine Pursey has tallied a team-high two goals (both game-winners) and freshman Jessica Jacobs has a team-high two assists. Elizabeth Bueckers and Autumn Weeks also have scored game-winners this season. 
 

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QUOTABLE
"While this was not the result we wanted, I am so proud of these young ladies and the effort we put in today. We put it on them for 110 minutes and gave up very little at the other end. We need to be more efficient with our opportunities and we will work on that this week," head coach Chris Johnson said following last week's draw with Youngstown State. 

SCOUTING THE JAGUARS
IUPUI is 4-0-2 on the year, having allowed just two scores and outscoring foes 6-2. Defensively, IUPUI has dialed up five shutouts and held opponents just 11.3 shots per game (4.3 on goal). Redshirt sophomore AP Woodall has a 0.38 goals against average and is a three-time #HLWSOC Defensive Player of the Week. Offensively, Pursey has a team-high two goals and Jessica Jacobs has two assists. Pursey has a team-high 17 shot attempts while Bueckers has attempted 16 shots. 

LAST TIME OUT: IUPUI 0, Youngstown State 0 (2ot) // Recap I Box Score I Photo Gallery

RECENT AWARDS
Last week, IUPUI players collected a slew of honors and awards - here's a rundown. 
PURSEY AMONG 30 CANDIDATES FOR WOMEN'S SOCCER SENIOR CLASS AWARD
RYMER HONORED WITH WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH STUDENT AWARD
BENSCOTER, BUECKERS AND RYMER AMONG IUPUI'S TOP 100

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
NOTE: For the 2021 spring season only, qualifying teams will be seeded in descending order according to Horizon League points per match. The standings reflect the current seeding as of March 25.

SCHOOL	CPTS	CONF	CPCT.	OVERALL	PCT.	STREAK
Northern Kentucky	16	5-0-1	0.917	5-0-1	0.917	W4
Milwaukee	15	5-1	0.833	5-1	0.833	W2
IUPUI	14	4-0-2	0.833	4-0-2	0.833	T1
UIC	12	4-2	0.667	4-2	0.667	L1
Oakland	16	5-2-1	0.688	5-2-1	0.688	W4
Cleveland State	12	4-4	0.500	4-4	0.500	W1
Wright State	9	3-4	0.429	3-4	0.429	L1
Purdue Fort Wayne	6	2-4	0.333	3-4	0.429	L1
Detroit Mercy	7	2-4-1	0.357	2-4-1	0.357	W1
Green Bay	3	1-3	0.250	1-3	0.250	L2
Robert Morris	3	1-6	0.143	1-6	0.143	L3
Youngstown State	1	0-6-1	0.071	0-6-1	0.071	T1

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 130 career wins on the IUPUI sidelines and 211 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. Slimak, Stocker, Shumate, Jacobs and Werner all made their collegiate debuts at Detroit Mercy with Slimak and Stocker earning starts. 

SCOUTING NKU
NKU is 5-1-1 on the year and 5-0-1 in Horizon League play this season. The Norse have outscored opponents by a 10-4 margin and outshot foes by more than three shots per game. Kailey Ivins and Sofia Wilmes lead NKU with three goals apiece and have each tallied a pair of game-winners. Lindsey Meyer has a team-high four assists. In goal, Mimi Stines has started all seven matches and has a 0.42 GAA and .870 save percentage with four shutouts. 

VERSUS THE NORSE (see the entire history here)
IUPUI is 1-3-1 all-time against NKU and 0-2-1 in the three meetings in Indianapolis. NKU won the most recent meeting by a 2-0 count on Sept. 20, 2019 in Indianapolis. The Jaguars lone win was a 3-2 come-from-behind effort in the 2017 Horizon League Tournament in Milwaukee to advance to the championship game. Pursey had a hat trick in that contest, tallying goals in the 84th and 89th minutes to seize the victory. 

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.