MILWAUKEE, Wisc. - The IUPUI women's soccer team will take on top-seeded Milwaukee (10-3-3) in the first of two Horizon League Tournament Semifinals matches on Thursday (Nov. 3) to decide which teams will compete for the league title on Saturday (Nov. 5). The Jaguars and Panthers will kickoff at 1:00 p.m. CT (2 Eastern) on ESPN+ as Greg Rakestraw (pxp) is on the call. 

IUPUI (9-3-6) earned a spot in the semifinals by upsetting No. 3 Oakland in the quarterfinals round of the league tournament by a 2-0 score. The Jaguars built a quick 1-0 lead on a goal from freshman Sarah Henson and added some insurance just after halftime when Emma Antoine netted her sixth goal of the season. Sophomore goalkeeper Ashton Kudlo spearheaded the Jaguars' school record and league leading 11th shutout of the season, despite being outshot 19-4. She registered eight saves and lowered her goals against average to 0.73 on the season while upping her save percentage to .836 on the year. Her won-loss record improved to 8-1-6 with six shutouts this year. 

IUPUI was opportunistic in the attack, scoring on a pair of counters, while largely trying to stay behind the ball against the Golden Grizzlies. Antoine helped assist on Henson's goal, as did Maya Lacognato, while Sam Slimak assisted on Antoine's score. Lacognato, a First Team All-League pick, continues to lead the Jaguars in goals (7), assists (4), points (18) and game-winners (3) while Antoine, who made her first start of the year at Oakland, is second on the squad with six tallies. Slimak, a Second Team All-League honoree, has three goals and three assist.

POSTSEASON AWARDS
Maya Lacognato, Sam Slimak and Emma Frey all earned All-Horizon League honors, as announced on Friday (Oct. 28).

Lacognato and Slimak were also voted to the Horizon League's All-Academic Team.

QUOTABLE
"We had a game plan that was kind of a high risk, high reward type game plan to not let them build out of the back and I thought we did a good job of stifling some things they wanted to do. (Karabo Dhlamini), their defensive mid had really kind of dominated some games this year, so we moved Sam back into her space and Sam kind of shut her down. I thought the kids did an unbelievable job of just buying into the plan and making sure that we were all on the same page," head coach Chris Johnson said following the win at Oakland. 

SCOUTING MILWAUKEE
Milwaukee is 10-3-3 overall and a perfect 6-0 at home this season, having outscored foes by a 20-1 margin. Among those six victories, Milwaukee defeated IUPUI by a 3-0 score on Oct. 6, tallying all three goals after halftime. Kayla Rollins leads Milwaukee with eight goals while Haley Johnson has five goals and three assists. Lainey Higgins has three goals and a team-high eight assists as Milwaukee has outscored their foes by a 33-13 differential this season. In goal, Parker Donahugh and Kendall Edwards have split the minutes nearly equally with Edwards posting a 0.67 GAA and five shutouts and Donahugh notching a 0.95 GAA and four shutouts. Collectively, Milwaukee has nine clean sheets and yields just 0.81 goals per game. 

INSIDE THE SERIES
IUPUI is just 1-6-1 all-time against Milwaukee and 1-4-1 in six meetings in Milwaukee. Milwaukee won this year's meeting by a 3-0 score. The Jags won in Milwaukee on Mar. 3, 2021 and advanced past Milwaukee in the Horizon League Tournament Championship in 2017 as the two teams played to a scoreless draw. 

TOURNEY HISTORY
IUPUI is 2-2-2 all-time in Horizon League Tournament games, having advanced on both occasions it played the opponent to a draw. Prior to the win at Oakland, IUPUI's last conference tournament win was a 3-2 come-from-behind win over Northern Kentucky in 2017 in a game played in Milwaukee. 

CLIMBING CHARTS
Lacognato has moved up to tenth on IUPUI's all-time list in goals scored (16) and points (42) and tied for 11th all-time in assists (10). She's tied for sixth on IUPUI's all-time list with seven career game-winners. 

SHOOTER SAM
Sam Slimak's league leading 54 shot attempts this season marks the eighth-highest single-season total in IUPUI history and the most by an IUPUI player since Valentine Pursey attempted 62 in 2019. The school record for shot attempts in a season is 83 from Krissy Kirkhoff in 2017. 

UP NEXT
With a win, IUPUI would face either Purdue Fort Wayne or Youngstown State in the Horizon League Championship match on Saturday, Oct. 5.