INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI women's soccer team put a strong capper on the 2023 regular season on Wednesday (Oct. 25) with a 2-0 home win over Purdue Fort Wayne at Carroll Stadium. With the win, IUPUI (11-3-4, 5-1-4 HL) claimed the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Horizon League Tournament, collecting a first round bye and an automatic trip to Milwaukee. The Jaguars will next play in the #HLWSOC Tournament semifinals on Thursday, Nov. 2 in Milwaukee on ESPN+. 

On Wednesday, the Jaguars struck first and struck last in an important and emphatic victory. Sam Slimak opened the scoring with her sixth strike of the year in the seventh minute and freshman Caroline Kelley added insurance with a rebound tally in the 52nd minute. IUPUI outshot the Mastodons 19-8 overall and 12-6 on target as sophomore Cailynn Junk registered six saves in her second straight shutout win. 

"I like how well we played together," freshman Emily Tobin said. "I thought we connected around and overall, we were all there for each other and talking, so it was a good team effort win."

IUPUI came out firing, relying heavily on Emma Antoine's speed on the right side to create space and havoc. Antoine assisted on Slimak's score in the seventh minute, playing service from the right side into Slimak's composed finish. After the early flurry, Purdue Fort Wayne (5-7-6, 2-4-4 HL) evened the footing, but was unable to find a marker against Junk and the Jaguars' defense. 

The second half began like the first with IUPUI taking the early momentum and eventually cashing in in the 52nd minute. Tobin put a bullet on frame from distance that was saved by PFW's Samantha Castaneda, but Kelley pounced on the rebound and slotted it home for her team-high eighth score of the season. It marked Tobin's fourth assist of the campaign, putting her third on the team in that category. 

IUPUI continued the pressure and nearly got a third score from Slimak in the 61st minute on a shot from in close. With the two goal lead, head coach Chris Johnson was able to substitute more liberally down the stretch, shuffling in bodies in the second half. Sophomore Kailyn Smith played all 90 minutes in the defensive third while Tobin played 88 in the midfield. Slimak paced the IUPUI attack with five shot attempts while Kelley had four. 

IUPUI will now await the outcomes of Sunday's two #HLWSOC Tournament Quarterfinals to learn its opponent for next week's semifinal match in Milwaukee.