The University of Southern Indiana men's soccer team held off a late rally to come away with a 1-0 victory over Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Sunday afternoon at Strassweg Field in Evansville, Indiana. The Screaming Eagles improve to 8-5-0 overall and 5-1-0 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference while the Cougars fall to 8-3-1 overall and 6-1-0 in the GLVC.

Senior midfielder John Havill (Greenfield, Indiana) headed a ball into the top corner of the net, with 3:19 to play in the first half, to score the only goal of the contest. Havill got the opportunity from a direct kick by senior midfielder Duncan Bray (Shetland, Scotland), who earned an assist on the play.

After controlling possession for a better half of the second stanza, the Eagles faced an all out onslaught from a Cougar squad that entered the match with the GLVC's best record (6-0).

With time winding down, Edwardsville kept the pressure on, recording eight shots within the final 25 minutes of the match.

The Cougars, which entered the match ranked fourth in the NSCAA Central Region Poll, had a golden opportunity slip away, with three seconds to go in the contest, when USI's junior midfielder Steve Hendrickson (Granite City, Illinois) cleared a ball that was with in a foot or two from tying the match and sending it into overtime. The ball had slipped past freshman goalkeeper Kyle Penick (Evansville, Indiana) and looked like it was on its way into the back of the USI net.

USI had a couple of good scoring opportunities, one which came in the first half and another which could have iced the game in the second period.

Bray had a fast-break for the Eagles in the first half, but saw his shot get deflected by SIUE goalkeeper Matt Evers. Junior back Brian Peroutka (St. Louis, Missouri) had a shot ricochet of the top bar, of SIUE's goal, midway through the second half. Peroutka's shot could have given the Eagles a 2-0 lead.

Defensivley for the Eagles, freshman Kyle Penick played all 90 minutes in goal to pick up his third career shutout. Penick, who improved to 6-1-0 with the victory, faced 15 shots and recorded nine saves.

USI will face, what could be, its most critical juncture of the 2002 season as it heads north to take on #9 Lewis University and the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. The Eagles will face Lewis Friday, October 18, before heading to Kenosha, Wisconsin, to take on Wisconsin-Parkside Sunday, October 20. Both matches are slated for noon start times. Lewis is ranked first in the NSCAA Central Region Poll while the Eagles are ranked eighth.