INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI men's soccer team earned a much needed 1-0 home win over Green Bay on Saturday (Oct. 15), capping a perfect two-game homestand with back-to-back Horizon League wins. Redshirt junior Lucas Morefield delivered a shutout in net and freshman Spencer Holland tallied his first career score in the game's 66th minute for the day's only offense. 

"It was really good, man. Just to be able to be focused after all of the Senior Day stuff going on - it wasn't the prettiest of performances, but the back line held strong and we're really starting to figure things out and grind out wins, which is huge for this program," Morefield said.

"Wins always feel good," head coach Sid van Druenen said. "I'm extremely pleased. It's a clean sheet, a goal from (Holland), a freshman who started off the year not playing much - for him to get a goal was great to see.

"Not too thrilled with the performance, but at the same time, if we can win the ugly ones, I think it's another massive step for us as a program in terms of going the right direction."

The first half felt more like a lengthy feeling out stage as the two teams combined on just nine shots and two corners and neither were particularly dangerous in the attack. Both sides had apparent goals wiped off the board due to offsides calls, the first coming in the game's first five minutes when a Green Bay turnover led to an apparent Josemir Gomez finish, but celebration was quickly quelled due to a raised flag on the side of the IUPUI (3-5-5, 2-1-3 HL) bench. 

Later, Green Bay's Josh Johansen thought he had a score, but similarly had it wiped out due to an offsides call. 

Things opened up quickly after halftime, particularly on the IUPUI end as the Jags began finding pockets of space to attack the Phoenix. After errant shots from Medard Mikobi and Kade Tepe in the early stages, the game took a somber turn when a Green Bay player suffered an injury in the 52nd minute, causing a lengthy delay as he was stretchered off the field. 

The teams regrouped after a nearly 30-minute pause and the Jaguars finally went in front in the 66th minute. Gomez sent a long diagonal ball to Dominic Breidenbach, who worked 1-v-1 against a defender. Breidenbach beat his man before sending a cross into trouble to Holland, who took a composed tough and drove a left-footed shot past Tobias Jahn for his first career score. 

Gomez just missed building a 2-0 lead in the 76th minute, sending a shot just wide of the far post after a nifty turn against a defender. 

Playing with the lead, IUPUI went to a more defensive group and worked on killing clock to preserve the victory. IUPUI closed with a 15-13 shot advantage, despite the Phoenix outshooting them 6-2 in the final 20 minutes. 

Morefield finished with five saves and Logan Finnegan and Tepe had a team-high three shots each. Michael McDougall paced Green Bay with three shot attempts. 

IUPUI will return to action next Saturday (Oct. 22) when the Jaguars travel to Oakland for a Horizon League match. The Jags were originally slated to take on Saint Louis this week, but the match was recently canceled by SLU and moved to the 2024 schedule.