EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Southern Indiana men's soccer team comes back to the friendly surroundings of Strassweg Field to host teams from the far west side of the Great Lakes Valley Conference. USI begins a short two-match homestand Friday at 7:30 p.m. when it hosts William Jewell College and concludes Sunday at 2:30 p.m. when it welcomes Rockhurst University to Strassweg Field.
Live coverage, including live stats and video, can be found at GoUSIEagles.com.
Week 6 Eagle Notes: The good and the bad of the road trip. USI (4-5-1, 3-4-1 GLVC) featured good and bad on the road trip last weekend. The Eagles started the trip with a positive 3-1 victory over Saint Joseph's College, but finished their travels on a down note with a 5-0 loss at the University of Indianapolis.
The goal scorers versus Saint Joseph's. USI sophomore midfielder
Brian Fischer (Jeffersonville, Indiana) kicked off the Eagles' attack at Saint Joseph's with his first collegiate goal. Senior midfielder
Colton Tanner (Jasper, Indiana) followed Fischer with the eventual game-winning goal, while senior forward
Caleb Mathers (Clarkston, Michigan) sealed the victory with his first tally of the season.
USI looking to reach .500 -- again. The Eagles will be shooting to reach and surpass the .500 mark for the second-straight weekend. USI climbed back to .500 with the win over Saint Joseph's last week, but fell back to one-game under after the loss at UIndy.
Eagles in the GLVC. USI is currently in a three-way tie for seventh in the GLVC with a 3-4-1 conference record. The Eagles also are two-games behind UIndy for sixth in the standings. The top eight teams in the GLVC advance to the league's post-season tournament.
Weinzapfel leading the USI offensive attack. USI junior midfielder
Josh Weinzapfel (Evansville, Indiana) leads the USI offensive attack this year with seven points on two goals and a team-best three assists. Weinzapfel also has a game-winning goal (vs. Lewis) and has assisted on a game-winning goal (vs. Maryville University). Sophomore forward
Braiden Acton (Evansville, Indiana) follows Weinzapfel in the scoring column with five points on two goals and an assist.
Bruder in the goal. Junior goalkeeper
Auston Bruder (Evansville, Indiana) has led the Eagles through the 10 games. Bruder has a 1.15 GAA overall in 725 minutes of action, making 33 saves.
Santoro is in his sixth year. USI Head Coach
Mat Santoro has a 42-48-7 overall record at USI, but is 22-19-4 in the last three seasons.
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 looks for first victory over William Jewell. The Eagles enter Friday's match versus William Jewell (2-6-3, 1-4-3 GLVC) looking for their first win against the Cardinals. USI is 0-3-0 against William Jewell, including a 2-1 loss in Liberty, Missouri, last year.
Eagles want back on track versus Hawks. USI will enter Sunday's match-up with Rockhurst (6-3-0, 6-2-0 GLVC) working to get back on track versus the Hawks. The Eagles have lost the last two matches to the Hawks after posting their only victory over Rockhurst in 2012. The Hawks, who visit the University of Illinois Springfield Friday night, lead the all-time series, 15-1-2.