INDIANAPOLIS - The IU Indianapolis women's soccer team collected a critical 2-1 home win over Oakland University at Carroll Stadium on Thursday (Oct. 15), claiming a much needed three points in the standings. Senior
Lindsey Castillo opened the scoring on a first half strike and
Keilah Muldrow tallied the eventual game-winner before the Jaguars yielded a late score. The win vaulted the Jaguars all the way to No. 6 in the Horizon League standings through seven games.
"We had a mindset that if we want to get on a winning streak, we got to start tonight," head coach
Angela Berry White said. "They literally listened to everything that we've been putting together for the past few weeks. It's a process. You've got to trust that process. What does that entail? Just doing the little things first. We made sure of that, taking care of the ball defensively. We were pretty strong there in the first half all up until the last couple of minutes of the game, but things like that happen. We just have to make sure that we continue to stay the course."
The game was played in a steady downpour, making passing and possessing challenging on the wet turf. While the Jaguars (5-8-2, 3-4 HL) seemingly acclimated to the conditions more quickly, it only resulted in one first half score, despite a 12-3 shot advantage. Freshman
Madeline Chappa had an initial drive blocked by a defender, but Castillo settled the rebound and laced a shot just inside the left post for her third tally of the year. Play was more level in the second half before junior
Keilah Muldrow finally gave the Jags breathing room in the 79th minute. Senior
Caroline Kelley smashed a drive from the right side that went through the legs of OU keeper Norah Schmidt. Muldrow pounced on the spinning ball and blasted it over the line for her team-high sixth score of the season.
"(It was) extremely important," Muldrow said of her goal. "I feel it gave us a little bit more wiggle room. Obviously we had a little mess up in the back, but we had more cushion. Shout out to Caroline for playing that ball nonetheless."
Oakland nearly tallied in the 84th minute when Sophie Schultz had a shot rip off the right post and across the mouth of the goal after getting past sophomore goalkeeper
Isabel Oferosky. In the 88th minute, Oakland broke open the shutout when Corinne Jenkins rolled a shot past Oferosky after a corner kick was unable to be cleared by the Jaguar defense.
However, the IU Indy attack was able to kill off the final two minutes to secure the win.
The Jaguars closed with a 19-11 shot advantage and 8-3 margin in shots on goal. Muldrow finished with a game-high five shot attempts and both Kelley and
Annaliese Black had three apiece. Oferosky made two saves in earning her fourth win of the season.
The Jaguars will close the two-game homestand on Sunday (Oct. 18) when they host Detroit Mercy at 1:00 p.m. at Carroll Stadium.
