INDIANAPOLIS - The IU Indianapolis men's soccer team closed out the 2026 season on a high note on Tuesday (Nov. 3) as the Jaguars claimed a 1-0 home win over Detroit Mercy at Michael A. Carroll Stadium. Senior
Jose Antonio Herrera scored the game's lone goal in his home finale while the goalkeeping duo of
Peter Field and
Vicente Silva combined on a shutout in net.
"Yeah, the message in the last few games is every moment from here on out is a building block towards next season's success," head coach
Keegan Boom said. "Getting wins and points and obviously good moments, positive moments is going to help us going forward."
While Tuesday's game was inconsequential in the Horizon League standings, it was far from meaningless as both teams brought the fight from the opening whistle. The Jaguars (4-8-4, 1-6-3 HL) had the better run of play in the opening half, resulting in the two best scoring chances of the match. In the 21st minute,
Santiago Sanchez drew a foul deep in UDM territory, leading to a Herrera penalty kick opportunity. However, the Jaguars' top scorer didn't get the best strike and UDM keeper Quinn Tews deflected the shot away for a corner kick.
In the 43rd minute, a streaking Herrera got on the end of a
Jayden Quezada centering pass from the right side, but redirected his shot wide of target and out of play. The Jags continued their quality builds to start the second half and finally opened the scoring in the 62nd minute when
Noah Kummrow's long ball flicked off a Detroit defender, sending Herrera into space. Herrera side stepped Tews, who was well off his line, and angled a shot into the open net for his team-high seventh score of the season and 16th of his collegiate career.
Detroit Mercy (4-10-3 3-6-1 HL) cranked up the heat offensively, but Silva was equal at every turn, finishing with six stops. Silva came on in relief of Field, who left in the 27th minute after a collision with teammate
Luke Kegerreis while defending a corner kick.
UDM finished with a 15-12 shot advantage and 7-5 margin in shots on goal while Herrera fired a game-high five shots.
IU Indy closed the season by getting results in four of their final five Horizon League contests of the year, culminating in Tuesday's win. The Jaguars also finished the campaign 3-2-3 in eight home matches.
