First conference semifinal appearance since 2003
Box Score (Sortable); Box Score (HTML)
SCORE: USI 2, Bellarmine 1
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Southern of Southern Indiana men's soccer team advances to the GLVC Tournament semifinals for the first time since 2003 with a 2-1 victory over Bellarmine University Sunday afternoon in Louisville, Kentucky. Fifth-seeded USI rises to 11-6-0, while fourth-seeded Bellarmine finishes the year 10-5-3.
The Screaming Eagles struck first in the match when senior forward
Jeffrey McClure (Indianapolis, Indiana) scored 5:04 into the match. McClure headed in a pass from senior midfielder
Austin Andrekus (St. Charles, Illinois) for the 1-0 lead. USI would carry that 1-0 lead into the intermission.
Bellarmine rallied to even the match, 1-1, at 48:36 of the second half. USI responded 11 minutes later when the McClure-Andrekus combination struck again to put the Eagles back on top, 2-1, at 59:42. The goal raised McClure's season point total to a team-best 34 on 14 goals and six assists.
The USI defense would take over the rest of the way and preserved the 2-1 victory. USI goalkeeper
Ben Dempsey (Evansville, Indiana) picked up his fifth win of the year by allowing one goal and making four saves, two coming in the final 30 minutes.
USI advances to play top-seeded Rockhurst University in the GLVC Tournament semifinals November 2 in Kansas City, Missouri. Rockhurst earned the right to host the league semifinals and the November 4 championship game by defeating eighth-seeded Lewis University, 2-0, today.
In addition to the USI-Rockhurst match-up in the semifinals, second-seeded Quincy University advances to play the sixth-seeded University of Missouri-St. Louis. Quincy won its first round match against William Jewell College, 5-1, Saturday, while UMSL upset third-seeded Drury University, 1-0, Sunday.
Game times for the semifinal matches and the championship match are still to be determined.
