INDIANAPOLIS - The IUPUI men's soccer team got a pair of goals from redshirt sophomore Josemir Gomez and a sturdy defensive effort against a tough Oakland team to pick off the Golden Grizzlies, 2-1, at Michael A. Carroll Stadium on a steamy Saturday afternoon (Sept. 23). The Jaguars yielded an early goal, but came off the mat to score two unanswered goals to improve to 3-0-0 in Horizon League play. 

Oakland, which was coming off a win over Michigan, dropped to 2-5-1 overall and 1-2 in Horizon League play. 

"This was a tough week for us. We had a lot of guys out sick. We couldn't even hardly train on Wednesday because the numbers were low - so, for our guys to come out and get a result. Winning is hard and winning when you're not even close to 100 percent is even harder," head coach Sid van Druenen said. "Wrapping up a week that was a tough week for us with a win is massive."

Oakland struck first on some fancy footwork from Mikey Ketterman in the game's eighth minute as he snuck past an IUPUI defender and rolled a shot just inside the right post for his third tally of the season. Gomez matched the effort in the 30th minute with a brilliant individual effort and culminated in a right-footed blast past OU's Finn Jurak for an equalizer. 

The game remained tied at 1-1 at the break as shots (5-5) and corner kicks (3-2) were nearly equal in the opening 45 minutes. The Jaguars went ahead on another Gomez strike in the 67th minute, initiated by an Emerson Nieto through ball to play the striker in space. Gomez maneuvered his way against a defender before drilling a laser from the top of the 18 for a brace. 

The IUPUI defense was forced to hunker down and absorb an Oakland attack down the stretch as the Golden Grizzlies had a 7-3 shot advantage in the second half and 7-0 margin on corner kicks. Goalkeeper Lucas Morefield and his teammates dodged a couple bullets late, including a Ketterman shot that went just over the bar in the 81st minute and a Sebastian Nuzzo attempt that was redirected over the crossbar in the game's final minute. 

Gomez finished with a game-high five shot attempts while Morefield made a pair of saves in a winning effort. 

"After a pretty poor first half, we stayed grounded and understood what we needed to do to change things," Morefield said. "We got a goal and got an ugly win, so I'm just proud of the effort."

The win gave IUPUI consecutive wins over the Golden Grizzlies for the first time since 1999.

The Jaguars will continue the homestand on Tuesday (Sept. 26) when they host Bellarmine at 3:00 p.m. at Carroll Stadium.