EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The University of Southern Indiana Men's Soccer team will begin Summit League play on Wednesday as they welcome in the University of Missouri-Kansas City to Strassweg Field. Kickoff is set for 7pm and you can watch all the action on ESPN+. The Screaming Eagles come into the match 0-6-2 after earning a 1-1 draw with Chicago State University on Saturday.
 
This will be the final match of a three-match homestand for USI before heading on the road for back-to-back matches. The Eagles will travel to Eastern Illinois University on October 1st for a conference match then head to take on former rival Bellarmine University on October 4th for their final non-conference match of the season.
 
USI had a very strong showing in their last match against Chicago State but weren't able to capitalize on some late opportunities and earned a 1-1 draw. The Eagles came out of the gate fast and red hot, taking an early 1-0 lead after Zach Barton (St. Louis, Missouri) scored in just the fifth minute, assisted by Nick Faddis (St. Louis, Missouri). The Cougars were able to equalize midway through the first half and the two teams went into halftime all knotted up. After a strong physical second half from both teams, neither was able to capitalize on opportunities and the match finished at the 1-1 score line.
 
One of the strongest assets for Head Coach Mat Santoro's squad this year has been their defense. USI has allowed two or less goals in five of their eight matches this season and one or less in three including a clean sheet against the University of Evansville earlier in the season. Over their last four matches the Eagles have consistently dropped their goals allowed per game average to where it sits now at 2.13. A large component from their last match with Chicago State was the return of center back Travis Sides (Evansville, Indiana) after missing the match with Lindenwood University. It seems like Santoro has found his back line. In three of their last five matches, the combination of Sides and Colten Walsh (St. Louis, Missouri) in the middle with Damian McGregor-Wickham (Toronto, Canada) on the left and Marky Lara (Evansville, Indiana) on the right. In those three matches the Eagles are 0-1-2.
 
The USI offense has been picking things up lately. After their quick start against the Cougars, the Eagles offense finished the match with their second highest number of total shots with nine and their most shots on goal of the season with five. Barton led the Eagles with a team season high five shots and three shots on goal. USI up front has been very physical and challenging as of late. With the likes of Barton up front and the use of Faddis, Robert Schoenstein (Mt. Vernon, Indiana), and Ryan Nevins (Plymouth, Minnesota) in the midfield with the use of freshman Jackson Mitchell (Newburgh, Indiana) coming off the bench, the Eagles attack is going to be lethal going into Summit League play.
 
Alec Meissner (St. Charles, Missouri) has been stepping up and improving in goal all season. Meissner has allowed 13 goals this season, consistently bringing down his goals allowed per game average to 1.94. Meissner has made 19 saves on 76 shots faced this season. One of the goals he allowed against Lindenwood was a penalty off a handball.
 
Summit League Play Opens
The Summit League started conference play on Saturday with eight of the nine teams starting conference play. The Eagles were the lone team to not play a conference match. The University of St. Thomas won their opener against Eastern Illinois, 2-0. UMKC opened play with a home win over Lindenwood, 2-1. The University of Nebraska Omaha went on the road and took down Western Illinois University, 2-0. This year's pick to win the Summit League, the University of Denver, defended home turf with a tough 1-0 over Oral Roberts University.
 
Missouri-Kansas City Roo's
UMKC comes into the match with the Eagles 3-3-1 (1-0 Summit) after picking up a win in their conference opener on Saturday against Lindenwood, 2-1. The Roo's are being led this season by Kazuki Kimura who leads the team with three goals this season. Christian Koffi is another player to watch for UMKC, leading the team in assists (four), shots (18), and shots on goal (10). Cooper Clark has started all seven matches for the Roo's this season, allowing 15 goals while making 32 saves on 95 shots faced. UMKC is averaging 1.57 goals per game this season while taking 10.9 shots per game. The Roo's have also converted all three penalty attempts this season. They have also allowed 2.14 goals per game and 13.6 shots per game. UMKC came in the season picked to finish fourth in the Summit League after finishing in fourth last season with a 3-7-5 (2-2-2 Summit) record.