INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI men's soccer team posted an impressive clean sheet and tallied a pair of first half scores in a thrilling 2-0 preseason win over SIUE at Carroll Stadium on Monday night (Aug. 15). The victory provided an early look at new head coach Sid van Druenen's inaugural team as six newcomers earned starts to open the preseason. 

"Kudos to the guys," van Druenen said. "To be able to put up a performance like this and it wasn't just a win, but it was a shutout, it's a deserved win and we created enough (opportunities) to score probably a couple more, so there's nothing but pluses to take out of this performance.

"I think we've put a lot of work into both sides of the ball. We created a ton and didn't give much away and if we can build on that and keep doing that, wins will come."

Junior goalkeeper Lucas Morefield stopped a penalty kick in the opening half and both Josemir Gomez and Gavin O'Shea deposited goals to fuel the victory. 

IUPUI took the lead in the 18th minute when Edgar Correia sent Logan Finnegan forward with a gorgeous through ball behind the SIUE back line. Finnegan tracked the ball down just before it crossed the endline and centered a pass to a trailing Gomez, who blasted a shot into an open net. Morefield helped the Jags maintain their advantage by stopping a penalty kick in the 27th minute, stonewalling SIUE's Pau Palacin with a sprawling stop, evoking a loud cheer from a solid IUPUI contingent. 

The Jaguars capped a strong half with another highlight reel play in the 32nd minute when O'Shea sent a dazzling diving header past SIUE goalkeeper Eric Bauche for a 2-0 lead. Fellow freshman Dominic Breidenbach initiated the goal with a cross from the left side while Finnegan also earned an assist on the play. 

The second half saw the IUPUI defense weather a more determined SIUE attack, especially as play deteriorated over the course of the evening. Correia and freshman running mate Pedro Arruda capably manned the outside back spots while the tandem of Caleb Hussain and Ethan Miller helped patrol the middle. Wright State-transfer Bryson Najarian played a scoreless second half in goal in his IUPUI debut, sending away three SIUE attempts.

Freshman Kade Tepe led the IUPUI attack with three shot attempts, narrowly missing the far post on two separate occasions. Gomez, who missed all of last season due to injury, was a wrecking ball in the attacking third, consistently getting into dangerous situations to test the Cougars' defense. IUPUI finished with a 12-8 shot advantage and 5-4 margin on corner kicks after not allowing SIUE a corner in the final 45 minutes. 

"It was amazing," Finnegan said of the win. "Just to do it with my new teammates - a bunch of them are great players - I'm really excited to build off of this and keep going with it.

"We do a lot of attacking minded drills and being in the right moment. It all just kind of connected and went together well."

Eighteen different Jaguars earned playing time on Monday, ten of whom were making their IUPUI debuts. The two sides played an additional 20 minutes following Monday's contest in an effort to get reserves some much needed experience, ultimately ending in a scoreless draw. Freshman goalkeeper Gabe Ingle kept the sheet clean for those 20 minutes. 

The Jaguars will cap the preseason on Saturday, Aug. 20 when they take on Dayton at 7:00 p.m.