EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Southern Indiana men's soccer team enters its final three games of 2014 in search of a berth in the upcoming Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament. USI starts the final stretch of the regular season by hosting McKendree University Friday at 7:30 p.m. and traveling to the University of Illinois Springfield Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
The Screaming Eagles finish the regular season at Strassweg Field and play Bellarmine University October 29 at 7:30 p.m. Live coverage for all three of the matches, including live stats and video, can be found at GoUSIEagles.com.
Week 8 Eagle Notes: USI in pursuit of GLVC Tournament slot. USI (5-7-2, 4-6-2 GLVC) is in pursuit of its second GLVC Tournament berth in the last three seasons in the final three games of 2014. The Eagles are currently tied for the eighth and final GLVC Tournament slot with Bellarmine University and the University of Wisconsin-Parkside and one game behind seventh-place Missouri University of Science & Technology. USI needs to finish one win or one tie better than Bellarmine, which the Eagles play next week, and UW-Parkside to earn the eighth and final spot in the league tournament. UW-Parkside holds the tie-breaker with USI after defeating the Eagles last month at Strassweg Field.
Eagles hope to get GLVC-best 11th conference title in 2014. USI has a GLVC-best 10 conference championships in men's soccer since 1979. The Eagles also are looking for their first league title since 1991.
USI looking to get back to .500. After a 0-2-0 record last week against 18
th-ranked Drury University and Missouri S&T, the Eagles will be looking to get back to .500 in the final three matches. USI has not been above .500 since the opening season win over Kentucky Wesleyan College.
Eagles happy to be at home. USI is happy to be at home for two of the final three regular season games. The Eagles are 3-2-1 and have scored nine goals at Strassweg Field in 2014, compared to 2-5-1 and four goals on the road this fall.
Weinzapfel leading the USI offensive attack. USI junior midfielder
Josh Weinzapfel (Evansville, Indiana) leads the USI offensive attack this year with nine points on a team-high three goals and a team-best three assists. Weinzapfel also has a pair of game-winning goals (vs. Lewis and vs. William Jewell) and has assisted on a game-winning goal (vs. Maryville University). Sophomore forward
Braiden Acton (Evansville, Indiana) and senior midfielder
Colton Tanner follow Weinzapfel in the scoring column with six points on two goals and two assists.
Bruder in the goal. Junior goalkeeper
Auston Bruder (Evansville, Indiana) has led the Eagles through the 14 games. Bruder has a 1.09 GAA overall in 1240 minutes of action, making 50 saves.
Santoro is in his sixth year. USI Head Coach
Mat Santoro has a 43-50-8 overall record at USI, but is 23-21-5 in the last three seasons.
USI looks to make it three in a row over McKendree. The Eagles hope to make it three in a row against the Bearcats of McKendree (4-8-2, 4-7-1 GLVC) on Friday. USI holds a 5-2-1 all-time lead against McKendree after defeating the Bearcats, 3-2, in overtime last fall in Lebanon, Illinois.
Eagles want back on track versus Illinois Springfield. USI will be looking to get back on track against the Prairie Stars of Illinois Springfield (4-10-0, 2-10-0 GLVC) Sunday. The Eagles lead the all-time series with the Stars, 6-3-1, after falling at home last year to Illinois Springfield, 1-0. The Stars visit Bellarmine Friday night before hosting the Eagles on Sunday.
USI concludes the regular season by hosting Bellarmine. USI concludes the regular season at home when it hosts the Knights of Bellarmine (6-7-2, 4-6-2 GLVC) October 29. The Eagles lead the long-time rivalry, 22-13-1, and have won the last two meetings with the Knights, including a 2-1 decision in Louisville, Kentucky, last fall. Bellarmine hosts Illinois Springfield Friday before traveling to McKendree Sunday and finishing the regular season at USI.
