Jags fall to Oakland 2-0 in quarterfinals

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As two goals fly past her, Sophia Lipka looks at the clock and realizes she has nineteen minutes in her college career left. Nineteen minutes until it’s the last time she puts on the keeper uniform for IUPUI. Nineteen minutes until the final buzzer goes off and the rain falling down her face turns into tears.

The Jag’s 2-0 loss to Oakland in the Horizon League playoffs during Monday night’s hard fought battle would be one to remember for both teams. 

When asked about practice this week, head coach Chris Johnson said, “We didn’t practice any different this week. We had a tight turnaround from Friday’s game to today so we didn’t really hit anything too hard. I thought our game plan overall was pretty good, we didn’t execute on a few scenarios that we should have.”

Throughout the game, there was a small drizzle that would eventually turn into a steady rain. “It definitely makes the ground faster and makes the ball play a little quicker than what we are used to,” said Johnson. “We could still connect passes and do what we want to, we just couldn’t finish like we wanted to.”

The Jags had nine fouls in the first forty-five.“I think we had a lot of nerves in the first half and played very aggressive,” said Johnson. “We weren’t quit being ourselves, for sure.”

Since this is the last game, Coach Johnson looked back on what he liked about the season. “We had some freshman come in and step it up pretty big. We had a good, competitive situation with about fifteen or sixteen players.”

That doesn’t mean the Jags this year were without flaw as Johnson has already planned out what they need to work on for next season. “We need to finish balls a little better, we need to be more dynamic in the final third of the field.”

This is not the outcome the Jags planned on, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. “I think that the four seniors we had this year were a great example of what it takes to be successful,” said Johnson. “We have a lot of good players coming back and now it’s just a matter of grooming good leadership so we can come back and be just as successful.”

The women’s soccer team is graduating four seniors: Sophia Lipka, Emma Chambers, Jenna Sterr, and Bri Denny. With the bulk of the team still on the roster, the Jag’s look to come back just as strong next year for another crack at the Horizon League Championship.

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