CHICAGO – The UIC women's soccer team (2-9-0, 0-2-0 HL) will make the trip to Indianapolis this week to face off against new Horizon League member IUPUI (8-3-0, 2-0-0 HL) in a Wednesday night tilt. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CT at Carroll Stadium.
 
The Flames return to action after hosting Milwaukee (Sept. 23) at home. Despite tying the game at 1-1, UIC could not come back from three additional goals scored by the Panthers as it fell 4-1. Naomi Rushe scored her third goal of the season and second consecutive as it was just the second goal scored against Milwaukee this season. Tara Khayam went the full 90 minutes for the third straight match and made five saves.
 
A total of 162 shots have been taken by the Flames this season with 24 coming in Horizon League matches. Keri Birkenhead (23), Tamae Douglas (20) and Olivia Everin (20) lead the team in overall attempts while Emily Valentine (6) has taken the most in League play. Rushe boasts three of the team's nine goals as Birkenhead has added two of the seven assists.
 
Khayam has gotten the start the last three games and has acquired 19 saves. Annie DiCanio and Kelly Fritz have also earned minutes, playing in four games apiece, as DiCanio leads the trio with a 1.25 goals-against-average and two shutouts, and Fritz has matched Khayam in stops with 19.
 
While 2017 marks the first season of competition for the Jaguars in the Horizon League, it is not the first time UIC and IUPUI have met. The Flames captured a win at home during their inaugural season in 2014 while the Jaguars took the victory in 2015 to even the series at 1-1-0.
 
IUPUI enters into competition on a seven-match win streak which features six shutouts to aid in a .636 shutout percentage to rank 14th in the nation. Most recently, the Jaguars knocked off both Cleveland State and Detroit Mercy in 1-0 fashion for a pair of conference wins.
 
Krissy Kirkhoof (38) and Valentine Pursey (23) make up nearly half of IUPUI's 133 shots and have put 25 of the team's 51 attempts on goal. Pursey leads in points (11) and goals (4), and Kirkhoff owns a team-best four assists, while Miranda Ricks and Hayley Shelton have scored the two goals in conference play.
 
Sophia Lipka has played every minute in goal this season to tab a 0.71 GAA in upwards of 1,000 minutes. She ranks second in the Horizon League in saves with 55 and ranks fourth in the nation after collecting seven shutouts.