EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Soccer begins the Ohio Valley Conference season against the University of Arkansas at Little Rock on Thursday. Kickoff is at 6 p.m.
Southern Indiana (1-5-3) heads into OVC play with momentum, carrying a three-match unbeaten streak into Thursday's contest. The Screaming Eagles are 1-0-2 in the last three games, including a 1-1 tie last time out at the University of Kansas City last Thursday in the non-conference finale.
In the battle against the Roos, USI was tested. Despite being outshot by Kansas City 28-12 overall and 10-3 in shots on goal, USI fought hard on the defensive end to keep it a low-scoring match. The Eagles scored first in the 1-1 draw. With just over a minute before halftime, sophomore forward
Payton Seymour (Louisville, Kentucky) scored her first career goal. The Roos tied the match midway into the second half.
Coming off the match against Kansas City, USI had two players recognized with OVC Player of the Week accolades on Tuesday. Sophomore defender
Charli Grafton (Sunriver, Oregon) was named OVC co-Defensive Player of the Week. In the centerback position, Grafton won 70 percent of her defensive duels and 100 percent of aerial duels. Plus, Grafton had nine clearances, eight interceptions, three blocked shots, and a 70 percent distribution rate out of the back in a full 90 minutes against Kansas City. Redshirt freshman goalkeeper
Anna Markland (Hoover, Alabama) was named OVC co-Goalkeeper of the Week for the second consecutive week. On her toes from the opening kickoff against Kansas City, Markland made a career-best nine saves. The netminder was strong in facing 28 shots by the Roos, the most shot attempts the Screaming Eagles have seen this season.
On the season, freshman forward
Pilar Torres (Chula Vista, California) leads USI with a pair of goals and 13 shot attempts. Sophomore midfielder
Peyton Murphy (Bargersville, Indiana) has 11 shots. Torres is tied for third in the Ohio Valley Conference in shots, while Murphy is inside the top 10. Between the posts, Markland is second in the OVC with a 1.27 GAA and fifth with 36 saves. As a team, USI is first in the OVC with a 1.22 GAA and third with 80 shots. The Screaming Eagles are top-100 in the nation in shot accuracy at 50 percent.
Thursday's match against Little Rock will be the second all-time meeting between the two schools. USI will be looking for a little revenge, as Little Rock captured the first meeting last season with a 1-0 win on USI's field. The Trojans came away with the victory after scoring the game-winning goal with less than three minutes left in the match. The Trojans' sophomore midfielder Amaya Arias scored the game-winner.
Little Rock is 3-2-4 overall and 0-1-0 in conference action. The Trojans kicked off their conference slate on Sunday, suffering a 1-0 loss to Morehead State University. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak and an unbeaten streak of five matches. In a defensive contest that featured a combined 12 shots, Morehead State scored it's the game's only goal in the 42
nd minute. Arias led the Trojans with three shots.
The Trojans have scored 13 goals this season at a rate of 1.44 goals scored per game. Little Rock also averages 10.8 shots per outing while placing over 52 percent of shots on target. Senior midfielder Karina De Paoli paces Little Rock with four goals and eight points in 2023. Sophomore defender Colleen Gilliland and freshman forward Emily Jensen have each found the back of the net twice this season. Jensen's 12 shots are second on the team behind Arias' 16 shots. In goal, playing time has been split between graduate keeper Marie Cimatti and sophomore keeper Peyton Urban. Cimatti has made four starts, including last time out against Morehead State, and has posted a 1.75 GAA with 15 saves. Urban has started five matches, posting a 1.40 GAA with 26 saves.
The matchup in Little Rock on Thursday can be with a subscription to ESPN+. Additional coverage links are on the USI Women's Soccer schedule page on usiscreamingeagles.com.
