EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men's Soccer heads across town on Saturday to take on the University of Evansville in the first Mayors Cup. The Screaming Eagles enter the match 0-4 on the season while the Purple Aces enter 2-0-1.
 
The match against Evansville will be the fourth of five road games in their first six matches for the Eagles. After the match with the Aces, USI will head to Bradley University for the final road match in that stretch before starting a three match homestand on September 16th with a non-conference matchup with Lindenwood University. That homestand will also welcome in Chicago State University and the first conference match of the season for the Eagles as they host the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
 
After going down 2-0 against Southern Illinois University Edwardsville on Monday, the Eagles were able to head into halftime with the deficit cut in half after Ryan Nevins (St. Peters, Missouri) scored off a header from a ball chipped into the box by Marky Lara (Evansville, Indiana). While it had seemed like the momentum had shifted towards USI, and after a strong start to the second half, the Cougars were able to score five minutes into the second half of play and would continue to take over the next 15 minutes to extend the lead to 5-1.
 
One of the biggest things Head Coach Mat Santoro has been preaching to his players is how much he believes in them. This has been shown not just off the field but on as well. USI has had six guys start in all four games while another four have started in three. Using this and making his players more comfortable with each other and each other's play styles are really what is going to get this team their first win of the season.
 
The Eagles came into the season with questions about who the starting goalkeeper would be. So far, junior Alec Meissner (St. Charles, Missouri) has started three of the four games for USI, allowing nine goals and making five saves on 32 shots faced. Freshman Giancarlo Varano (Woodbridge, Canada) has also made his case known for the starting job, making one start and coming off the bench against SIUE. Varano has allowed four goals while making nine saves on 20 shots faced.
 
Coach Santoro brought in a plethora of new talent in the program in the offseason, and early on he's showing how much trust he has in them. Graduate transfer Nick Faddis (St. Louis, Missouri) has been holding down the midfield for USI, being one of six players to start all four games, he's played the most minutes out of any Eagle with 326. Not only has Faddis played a big role but so have a few others, four of the top five in minutes played this season are new to the team this year. The lone returner is senior defender Colten Walsh (St. Louis, Missouri) who has played just a minute less than Faddis with 325. Freshmen Ednilson Voiles (Plainfield, Indiana) and Will Kirchhofer (Fishers, Indiana) have also been key contributors in both the midfield and in the attack as well as transfer Damian McGregor-Wickham (Toronto, Canada) who has seen a lot of playing time at left back for Santoro's squad.
 
No matter the school or sport, transitioning from Division II to Division I is always tough. While they may not have that first win on the board yet, this team has a lot of fight in them. The Eagles have allowed just three goals in the first half of games while scoring three of their own. Doing an incredible job of staying with teams through the entire first 45 minutes. The second half is where the experience of the other teams start to set in. While allowing 10 second half goals and scoring one it would seem that after halftime USI can't get a stop. However, the Eagles have been very physical and tough coming out of the locker room, it's the experience for the other team in that last 30 minutes that starts to set in. For USI, half of the goals that they have allowed in the second half have come after that 60-minute mark.
 
Evansville Purple Aces
Evansville comes into the match against USI with a win last week over the University of Incarnate Word, 3-0, improving to 2-0-1 on the year. Nacho Diaz leads the Aces early with four goals scored, scoring in every match this year. Diaz was named the first Missouri Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Week this season. Carlos Barcia and Jose Vivas have also scored two goals each this season for Evansville. Evan Dekker and Nkosi Graham lead the team with two assists each. Alex Vidizzoni heads the Aces in net, starting all three games so far, allowing just three goals while making 11 saves on 30 shots faced.