INDIANAPOLIS - Entering play somewhat short-handed and having had limited practice time, IUPUI head women's soccer coach Chris Johnson was unsure of what to expect from his squad in its exhibition opener against Eastern Illinois on a downright balmy evening at Carroll Stadium on Wednesday (Aug. 11). His squad was up to the task and deposited two goals in the game's opening 20 minutes on way to a 2-1 preseason win. 

Sophomore Sam Slimak opened the scoring on a header in the 15th minute and senior Renae Blevins tallied the eventual game-winner with a right-footed strike in the 18th minute to account for the Jaguars' offense. EIU trimmed the lead in half in the second half, but IUPUI held the line late in the victory. 

"I thought today would be a good test to see where we are," Johnson said. "We're still trying to get some things figured out up top in terms of where we stand, but I thought we did a good job of creating chances and putting some away early.

"(Today) definitely helped. I thought we had some kids who did a nice job. I thought Renae did a good job today and I thought our starting combination of the midfielders was really good. I thought we opened with good sustained pressure in their end of the field to start the game and that was good to see. We definitely created opportunities. We haven't really worked on shooting, crossing and finishing a whole lot, so it was encouraging to see."

The early sustained pressure resulted in five early corner kicks, the fifth of which led to the game's first goal. Slimak got on the business end of a Maya Turner corner and headed a shot past EIU goalkeeper Daniela Bermeo for a tally in the 15th minute. Less than three minutes later, Elizabeth Bueckers laid a ball back to Blevins, who buried a shot from distance to make it 2-0 early. 

IUPUI was limited to just one shot over the final 35 minutes as the attack dropped off once the starters went to the sidelines. Senior goalkeeper AP Woodall was her typical brilliant self in the opening 45, recording three stops in a scoreless half. 

IUPUI tried to play add-on early in the second half on shots from Autumn Weeks and Blevins, but was unable to extend the lead. EIU cut the lead in half in the 59th minute when Jenna Little drove a shot past Emily McGrath, thanks to service from Michaela Danyo. McGrath kept things clean from there, registering a pair of saves and forcing Nicoletta Anuci to roll a shot just wide of the far post on a breakaway in the game's 86th minute. The Jags were able to burn off precious time late in the contest and finished with a 15-9 shot advantage and 9-3 margin in corner kicks. Blevins attempted a team-high three shots from her midfield post. 

Twenty-one different players logged minutes for the Jaguars, including five rookies. True freshman Abbey Renner was awarded a start in the center back spot and asserted herself among what's expected to be a strong defensive group. She was flanked by Grace Moore and Alex Stocker, who is among a group that will be counted on more heavily this season. 

"I think when we went to our bench in those outside back spots, the level of play didn't really drop off much at all," Johnson said. "That's going to open up some possibilities for us to maybe move Maya or Grace up the field more and give some different looks from that position."

IUPUI will continue the preseason slate on Saturday when the Jaguars host SIUE at 1:00 p.m. at Carroll Stadium. Admission will be free of charge for the Jaguars' final exhibition.