INDIANAPOLIS – In the Horizon League home opener, the IU Indianapolis men's soccer team fell to Robert Morris in a high-scoring affair, 3-2, Saturday (Sept. 21) afternoon. Four of the five goals came in the second half, including two from the Jaguars' Jose Antonio Herrera.

"Taking the result away, I think on the ball we created a lot. I think we found open players. I think we were confident," expressed head coach Sid van Druenen. "The result, of course, we hate, especially at home, but the performance is promising."

The Jaguars (3-3-1, 0-2) controlled the pace and possession in the opening 20 minutes. The hosts looked calm and collected playing out of the back, breaking the Colonial's press to create offensive opportunities. The midfield tandem of Quentin Flowers and Gijs Velings were especially impressive in the second level, playing long diagonal balls that led to odd man breaks. Twice Colonial defenders were forced to bring down Jaguar attackers from behind, leading to two yellow cards for the visitors in the opening 15 minutes.

Robert Morris (3-2-2, 1-0-1) weathered the storm and settled into the game well. The visitors were rewarded for their efforts on the score sheet in the 32nd minute. Kyler Miller was Johnny-on-the-spot after Kosi Udeh had his shot blocked inside the box, finishing clinically to open the scoring.

"At halftime we challenged our guys to do more of the same (of what we saw in the first half)," van Druenen said. His players responded, coming out with lots of energy despite the heat. The visitor's intensity and work rate also remained high as they looked for an insurance goal.

The Jaguars, however, were the first ones to strike in the second half, scoring on a rebound opportunity following a corner kick. The ball fell kindly to Herrera—the team's leading scorer—who left no mistake with the finish to square the contest in the 55^th minute.

RMU didn't take long to answer, retaking the lead just over a minute and a half later. After taking a corner kick, the ball was redirected straight back to Tim Koczulap who took the corner kick. Koczulap lofted the ball back towards the goal with his left foot and it sailed over everyone and into the side netting for his second tally of the season.

IU Indy committed numbers forward, looking to equalize for the second time. The goal they desperately searched for looked to come in the 63^rd minute, but RMU keeper Josh Lane made back-to-back outstanding saves to maintain the one-goal advantage.

The Colonials would stretch the lead with just under 15 minutes remaining on a Chase Gilley tally that would become the game-winning goal after the Jaguars would again answer. Herrera's second score of the day came off an excellent cross by Stan Klaver, but the 80^th minute mark proved to be too little too late.

Despite the result, there were lots of positives, including Herrera's brace to give him his fourth and fifth goals of the campaign. "He is just a head-down hard worker who is good in the pockets and good in behind," said van Druenen of his sophomore striker.

IU Indianapolis will now prepare for a non-conference clash against Western Illinois on Tuesday (Sept. 24). The match will kick off at 7:00 p.m. at Michael A. Carroll stadium.