EVANSVILLE, IN – The University of Southern Indiana men's soccer team starts an important three-match road trip Friday when it travels to seventh-ranked Drury University for a 7:30 p.m. kick-off in Springfield, Missouri. The Screaming Eagles end the weekend with game two of the trip Sunday at Missouri University of Science and Technology with a 2:30 p.m. match in Rolla, Missouri.
USI (8-4-0, 7-3-0 GLVC) begins this week sixth in the GLVC, but percentage points from fifth and a half game out of fourth. The top six spots in the GLVC are tightly bunched with one game separating one through six.
The Eagles are in the middle of their best season since 2003 and are just one victory away from recording its second winning mark in the last nine seasons. USI, which has won six of its last seven matches, also is two conference wins away from its first winning record in league play since 2003.
Leading the USI surge is senior midfielder
Jeffrey McClure (Indianapolis, Indiana), who has recorded a career-best and team-high 22 points on nine goals and four assists. McClure, who is tied for fifth in the GLVC in goals scored, has been especially dangerous to opponents the last two Sundays, scoring seven times (four versus University of Indianapolis; three versus Rockhurst University).
On defense, junior goalkeeper
Jeffrey Neidlinger (Carmel, Indiana) leads the Eagles with a 0.78 goals against average in nine matches and 810 minutes of action. He has made 36 saves and posted a pair of shutouts.
Neidlinger's 0.78 GAA is 0.08 off the pace set Matt Blauvelt, who set the USI single season record with a 0.70 GAA and led the Eagles to a GLVC title in 1990.
The Panthers of Drury (9-1-2, 7-1-2 GLVC) are 7-0-2 in last nine matches after tying Bellarmine University and defeating McKendree University last weekend. Drury is the top scoring team in the GLVC and ranked eighth in Division II with 3.4 goals per game.
Leading the way for Drury is freshman forward Shane Woods, who has eight goals and ranks third in the GLVC.
Drury leads the all-time series with USI, 7-1-1, after taking last year's match at Strassweg Field, 1-0. The Eagles' only victory over the Panthers came in 2010 when USI won at Strassweg Field, 1-0.
The Miners of Missouri S&T (6-4-2, 5-4-1 GLVC) trail the Eagles by 1.5 games in the GLVC standings after defeating McKendree and tying Bellarmine last week. Missouri S&T also has been rolling the last few matches, posting 5-2-1 mark in its last eight contests.
The Miners have had the advantage in the all-time series with USI, 12-9-2, and have won the last four matches since changing their university name from Missouri-Rolla to Missouri S&T. USI lost to Missouri S&T, 2-0, for the third-straight season last year and have not defeated the Miners since 2007.
