INDIANAPOLIS - The IU Indianapolis men's soccer team used a pair of second half tallies to rally from a one-goal deficit to defeat Wright State 2-1 in both teams' Horizon League opener on a rainy Saturday night (Sept. 13). The Jaguars got scores from a pair of defenders - sophomore Stan Klaver and junior Jago Thompson-Roberts - after conceding a goal early in the second half.

IU Indy (3-2-2, 1-0 HL) yielded a Wright State score in the opening minute of the second half, but fired back with scores in the 55th and 76th minutes to earn the victory. The Jaguars outshot Wright State 18-9 and allowed just two shots on goal in a stingy defensive effort. The win has the Jaguars among three teams sitting atop the league table after the opening weekend of Horizon League play. 

"It's big time. I felt like we needed a response after the NIU match, and the guys did exactly that. Starting conference play with a win is vital because you don't want to immediately be chasing points going into week two," head coach Sid van Druenen said. "Honestly, I never felt like we would lose this game. We fixed some things at halftime, and while it was disappointing to concede that quick goal, it may have helped us refocus. After that, we responded really well with multiple chances, multiple shots, and two really nice goals."

WSU (0-5-1, 0-1 HL) went in front in the 46th minute when Kaiji Nakazawa slotted a shot past senior goalkeeper Cameron Maung-Maung off a through ball from Maximilian Banfi. The goal essentially negated a solid first half effort, necessitating a pair of scores to get a win. The attack responded, beginning with a Klaver snipe in the 55th minute. After Marcus Danh-Khoa Nguyen drew a foul at the top of the 18, Klaver delivered his team-high third score of the year on the restart to tie the score. 

Later, it was Nguyen's corner kick that led to Thompson-Roberts' first collegiate score and the eventual game-winner. 

"I think (Wright State) had a bit of a lapse because a couple of us were open. Kummrow was in front of me, Brady was in front of me — we were all on our toes," Thompson-Roberts said. "We saw it as a chance. There was a little bit of space, and we'd worked on that all preseason. Credit to the coaches. It was a good ball in, and I was lucky to be on the end of it."

From there, the Jaguars leaned on their typically sturdy defense to help keep Wright State and bay and ultimately kill the clock down the stretch. Maung-Maung needed just one save in the win while Bali Esquivel and Klaver led the attack with five and four shots, respectively. Of the Jaguars' 18 shots, only four were on target, but more than 60 percent of the team's possession was in the attacking half of the field. 

"That's more on us than on them. They did block a couple (shots), but we also missed some absolutely open sitters," van Druenen said. "But it's a step-by-step process. Step one is creating more chances — that was a problem for us all of last year, and we've worked hard on it. Tonight we had (18) shots, so now it's about making sure we put more on frame."

The Jaguars will return to action on Tuesday (Sept. 16) when they travel to Macomb, Ill., to face Western Illinois at 5:00 p.m. Eastern on ESPN+.