EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Soccer opens a season-long three-match road swing Thursday when the Screaming Eagles travel to take on the University of Kansas City Roos. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. Thursday.
Following three straight home games, USI (1-5-2) now hits the road for three straight matches. Thursday is also USI's final non-conference contest before the start of the Ohio Valley Conference season on September 21 at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
Southern Indiana is looking to continue its current unbeaten streak, which sits at two games. Last Thursday, USI earned its first win of the season in a 2-0 victory against Austin Peay State University before tying 1-1 with Northern Illinois University on Sunday.
In Sunday's 1-1 draw, it was a defensive battle most of the match. The Screaming Eagles broke the scoreless contest with a put-back goal from senior midfielder
Avery Schone (Galena, Ohio) in the 62nd minute. It was Schone's first goal of the season and eighth career goal. Northern Illinois tied the game on a penalty kick in the 86th minute. With less than five seconds left, sophomore keeper
Anna Markland (Hoover, Alabama) turned away a last-second shot by the Huskies to keep the score level.
With her goal on Sunday,
Avery Schone has scored at least once in each of her four seasons in a USI uniform. The senior has tallied eight goals and 18 points in her career. Plus, Schone has a shot accuracy of 50 percent in her four seasons.
On the season, freshman forward
Pilar Torres (Chula Vista, California) paces Southern Indiana with a pair of goals. Sophomore midfielder
Peyton Murphy (Bargersville, Indiana) tops the squad with 11 shots, which is tied for sixth in the Ohio Valley Conference. Between the posts, Markland is second in the OVC with a 1.30 GAA and sixth with 27 saves. As a team, USI is first in the OVC with a 1.25 goals-against average and fourth with 68 shots. The Screaming Eagles are 44th in the nation in shot accuracy at 54.4 percent.
On Tuesday, Markland was named OVC co-Goalkeeper of the Week. Markland claimed USI's first honor of the season following her first career win and shutout in Southern Indiana's 2-0 victory against Austin Peay in addition to her performance on Sunday against Northern Illinois, totaling six saves between the two matches.
The Screaming Eagles' defense has been stout once again this season, as evidenced by a league-leading 1.25 GAA. What is incredible about the success of USI's defense this year is the transition to basically a new backline and goalkeeper after graduating several players from 2022 and positional movement for some returning players. This year's defensive unit is seeking to piggyback off a 2022 season in which USI's defense surrendered only 12 regular-season goals last year, matching a program best. USI's defense also recorded seven shutouts and a 0.82 GAA in 2022.
The Kansas City Roos (1-3-3) will be playing in their penultimate non-conference match on Thursday against USI before heading into Summit League play next week. The Roos are coming off back-to-back 1-1 ties against the University of Illinois Chicago and Kansas University. Against the Jayhawks, who have been receiving votes in national polls, Kansas City was outshot by seven, including by four in shots on goal. After surrendering a goal in the 50
th minute against the Jayhawks, the Roos answered right back two minutes later with a goal by sophomore midfielder Brianna Castleberry. The score was Castleberry's only shot of the match despite leading the team with 12 shots on the season.
Much like USI, Kansas City is looking to generate some momentum in offensive scoring with only five goals this season. The Roos average 8.4 shots per game and have put 24 of 59 attempts on target. Individually, junior midfielder Kayda Kamolz leads Kansas City this season with two goals and four points. She has put four of her eight shots on goal. Between the posts, junior keeper Riley Moore has made all seven starts, posting a 1.90 GAA with 35 saves, including five saves last time out against Kansas.
Thursday's match is the first all-time meeting in the regular season between the two schools. In 2022, the two programs played to a 1-1 tie in a preseason exhibition at USI.
The matchup in Kansas City on Thursday can be seen on the Summit League Network. Additional coverage links are on the USI Women's Soccer schedule page on usiscreamingeagles.com.
