EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Soccer concludes the 2022 regular season Sunday against Eastern Illinois University, seeking a win against the Panthers to secure a berth in the Ohio Valley Conference Championship Tournament. Kickoff Sunday is at 1 p.m. and admission is free thanks to The Women's Hospital Deaconess.
 
Sunday is also Senior Day from Strassweg Field, as nine players will be recognized prior to kickoff for their commitment and contributions to the USI Women's Soccer program. The following players will be acknowledged: goalkeeper Emma Sabath (St. Louis, Missouri), forward Taylor Hall (Grayson, Kentucky), defender Alyssa Wright (Sellesburg, Indiana), defender Elizabeth Bowley (Goshen, Kentucky), midfielder Madison Crawford (O'Fallon, Missouri), forward Morgan Beyer (Rossford, Ohio), midfielder Jill DiTusa (St. Charles, Illinois), graduate student Mia Rose Daly (Haiku, Hawaii), and goalkeeper Maya Etienne (Midland, Michigan).
 
On Sunday, a berth into the OVC Championship Tournament is at stake. Only eight of nine teams in the OVC make it into the tournament field. Eastern Illinois (2-5-8, 0-3-4) heads into the match eighth with four points, while USI (4-7-4, 0-5-2) is ninth with two points. Sunday is a must-win scenario for USI to get into the championship tournament. A draw or loss to Eastern Illinois will give the Panthers a tournament berth and end the season for USI Women's Soccer.
The Screaming Eagles are coming off a heartbreaking 1-0 loss Thursday at Southeast Missouri State University. USI's defense and Etienne in goal stood tall for 89:46, but the Redhawks broke through in the final seconds to capture the win.
 
Etienne had a strong performance between the posts, making a season-high 12 saves, three off her career-high of 15 she made in November 2019 against Grand Valley State. With the 12 saves, she also moved into third all-time on USI's career saves list with 302 career saves. Overall, this season, Etienne has a 0.74 goals against average with 67 saves and six shutouts.
 
On the offensive end, Beyer is the catalyst up front for USI. She has one goal, two assists, and four points. She has taken a shot in eight straight matches, including a shot on goal in four of the eight. Beyer is two goals away from entering USI's top-12 all-time with 13 career goals currently. She is already in the top-15 all-time in USI history with 34 career points. She had a career-high eight goals in 2020, leading to all-conference honors.

DiTusa enters Sunday's regular-season finale with one goal, three assists, and five points. In her career, DiTusa has 15 goals and 35 points, which are good for 12^th and 13^th all-time in USI history, respectively. The senior won all-conference accolades in 2020 and had a career-best six goals in 2021.
 
Close matches have been a common theme for the Screaming Eagles throughout the 2022 season. Out of 15 matches for USI, one goal or less has been scored in 10 matches between USI and their opponent. On the attacking end, the Screaming Eagles are averaging 0.67 goals per game. On the flip side defensively, USI possesses a 0.80 goals against average. Additionally, four of the six 1-0 losses for USI saw the game's single goal scored within the first 30 minutes of each match. The other two defeats had the lone goal scored in the last three minutes of the match. The Screaming Eagles are hopeful that the fortunes of close matches will turn their way Sunday.
 
Eastern Illinois' eight ties are a program record, surpassing the previous mark of six draws in 2018. Four of the eight draws have come in the last four matches for EIU, as it's been a streaky season for Eastern Illinois. The Panthers played to a 0-0 draw against Lindenwood last time out on Thursday despite outshooting the Lions 17-5 and 9-1 in shots on goal. Junior Cam Korhorn led the Panthers in the match with four of six shots on goal.
 
Junior midfielder Jenna Little leads EIU with four goals, 17 shots on goal, and 35 shots this season. She is the only Panther with multiple goals scored in 2022. Graduate student goalkeeper Daniela Bermeo has played every minute in goal this season as Eastern Illinois' netminder. Bermeo has been one of the Ohio Valley Conference's best, making 57 saves with a 0.73 goals against average. She has six clean sheets during the 2022 campaign.
 
Sunday's match can be seen live with an ESPN+ subscription.
 
USI fans can stay up-to-date with the latest at usiscreamingeagles.com or follow USI Athletics on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.