CLEVELAND - The IUPUI men's soccer team's season came to a close on a rainy Saturday (Nov. 12) in Cleveland as the Jaguars fell to top-seeded Cleveland State in the championship game of the Horizon League Tournament, 3-0. The host Vikings opened the scoring midway through the first half and added a pair of second half scores in the win. CSU outshot the Jaguars by a 21-6 margin and earned a 7-1 advantage on corner kicks, essentially declawing a typically potent IUPUI attack. 

Albert Portas put the hosts on top in the game's 28th minute when he caught the Jaguars on a counter and finished with a tough angled shot from the left side. It came on the heels of an IUPUI free kick inside midfield, but nothing came of the Jaguars' attempt and Portas quickly got free up the left sideline before scoring the game's first goal. 

The Jaguars, who were picked dead last in the #HLMSOC Preseason Polls, stayed in the fight and nearly got even just before halftime. Their best look of the afternoon came in the final minute of the first half when Lukas Hackaa had a hit from inside the 18-yard box. The ball deflected off a Cleveland State defender and bounced just wide of target for a corner kick in the closing seconds. 

CSU's Jannis Schmidt authored a key score in the 57th minute when he tallied from in close off an assist from Bojan Kolevski. Kolevski helped put the contest away in the 73rd minute when he setup Pablo Kawecki's tally to cap the day's scoring. 

IUPUI (7-7-6) was limited to just two shots on goal all day long, those coming from Hackaa and freshman Kade Tepe. At the other end, Lucas Morefield was busy, making three saves and facing a 21-shot onslaught.  Portas led CSU with six shot attempts while Schmidt and Kawecki had five each. 

CSU's Omeed Naeemy made two saves in goal for his clean sheet. 

Hackaa and Morefield earned spots on the All-Tournament Team, alongside teammate Logan Finnegan. Hackaa played a role in all four of the team's postseason goals (two goals and two assists) and Morefield delivered back-to-back shutouts to power the Jags to the championship game. Finnegan also tallied a goal in the 3-0 win over Wright State in the semifinals round. 

IUPUI, making its first trip to a conference title game since 2007, fell 90 minutes short of earning the program's first NCAA Tournament berth since 2000. However, head coach Sid van Druenen piloted the Jaguars to a .500 record for the first time since 2010 when that squad went 9-8-2.