EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Soccer enters the 2022 Ohio Valley Conference Soccer Championship Tournament as the No. 8 seed, taking on No. 5 Lindenwood University in the first round Friday at 4 p.m. The winner between the two schools will take on No. 4 Southeast Missouri State University Sunday afternoon in the quarterfinals.
 
USI (5-7-4, 1-5-2 OVC) heads into the OVC Tournament coming off a 2-0 home win against Eastern Illinois in the regular season finale, earning a postseason berth in their first season in the OVC and as an NCAA Division I program.
 
The Screaming Eagles were led by their seniors on Senior Day and a strong defense in their 2-0 victory over Eastern Illinois. Senior defender Madison Crawford (O'Fallon, Missouri) scored her first goal of the season and the second of her career. Senior midfielder Jill DiTusa (St. Charles, Illinois) scored her second goal of the season and her 16th career goal. Senior goalkeeper Maya Etienne (Midland, Michigan) made three saves.
 
USI played to a 1-1 draw against Lindenwood in their regular season meeting on October 9. Freshman midfielder Charli Grafton (Sunriver, Oregon) scored the first goal of the match in the third minute. Lindenwood tied the contest in the 73rd minute on a goal by former Screaming Eagle Peyton Ganz. The two teams tied with eight shots each with Lindenwood having six on goal to USI's four.  Just like Southern Indiana, Lindenwood is also transitioning to NCAA Division I status. The two schools previously faced off in the Great Lakes Valley Conference in NCAA Division II.
 
Southern Indiana has proven to be a defensive-minded squad this season, performing its best in the defensive half. In the first year as an NCAA Division I program, USI surrendered only 12 goals through the end of the 2022 regular season. That number matches a program-best set by the 1999 USI Women's Soccer squad. In three other seasons, USI allowed only 13. The defense this season has come up big in important spots, clearing a ball off the goal line on multiple occasions. The two center backs and graduates Elizabeth Lippert (Lexington, Kentucky) and Mia Rose Daly (Haiku, Hawaii) along with senior defender Alyssa Wright (Sellersburg, Indiana) and sophomore defender Maggie Duggan (Defiance, Missouri) have seen most of the minutes on USI's defensive line. The experienced back line has done its job to keep the Screaming Eagles in most of their contests this season.
 
A part of the defensive credit must go to Etienne between the posts. The senior goalkeeper earned her second OVC Goalkeeper of the Week honor this season earlier in the week. Etienne received the accolade after closing out the regular season with two brilliant performances in goal for the Screaming Eagles. Etienne snagged a season-high 12 saves on 13 shots faced in USI's road match last Thursday at Southeast Missouri. The 12 saves were only three off her career-high and moved her into third all-time in USI history for career saves, surpassing 300 stops. The senior followed that outing by leading USI to a 2-0 home shutout on Sunday against Eastern Illinois. For Etienne, Sunday's clean sheet was the 36^th of her career, extending her record in program history.
 
On the offensive end, the Screaming Eagles have some momentum in their attack after scoring two goals Sunday against Eastern Illinois. USI's offensive leader is junior forward Morgan Beyer (Rossford, Ohio), serving as the catalyst on offense. Beyer had one goal, two assists, and 21 shots in the regular season. Beyer has 34 career points, which is top-15 all-time in USI history, and she is only two goals away from entering the top-12 all-time. DiTusa, who picked her second goal of the season and 16^th of her career on Sunday, is tied for 11^th all-time in USI history. She is also 13^th all-time with 37 career points.
 
Freshman midfielder Peyton Murphy (Bargersville, Indiana) will look to get back to her scoring ways in the OVC Tournament after being closely marked in conference play. Murphy led the Screaming Eagles with five goals, 12 points, 25 shots, and 16 shots on goal this season. She also had two assists in 2022.
 
Lindenwood went 5-7-5 in the 2022 regular season, including a 2-2-4 record in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Lions concluded their regular season with a 0-0 tie at Eastern Illinois last Thursday. Lindenwood was outshot by the Panthers 17-5 and 9-1 in shots on goal. Freshman midfielder Rachel Jackson leads the Lions with four goals and 10 points. Graduate midfielder Jacqueline Baetz has two goals and leads the squad with 17 shots, nine of which were on goal. In goal, senior keeper Sam Blazek has been solid for Lindenwood, making 93 saves with a 0.90 goals against average in 13 starts and 16 total appearances. She also has seven shutouts this season. Blazek is coming off a nine-save performance at Eastern Illinois.
 
Matches in the opening weekend of the OVC Championship Tournament will air live on ESPN+.
 
USI fans can stay up-to-date with the latest at usiscreamingeagles.com or follow USI Athletics on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.