EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Soccer looks to continue a strong week in Ohio Valley Conference play when the Screaming Eagles head to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Sunday at 2 p.m.
In the final road game of the regular season, Southern Indiana (4-8-4, 3-2-2 OVC) seeks its third straight win, fourth conference victory and sixth positive result of the OVC season. Entering Sunday's match, Southern Indiana is tied for fourth place in the league standings with Eastern Illinois University at 11 points and only four points behind first-place Lindenwood University. SIUE (2-7-5, 1-3-3 OVC) will be hosting its regular-season home finale Sunday, as the Cougars look to stay above the bubble line for conference tournament contention. SIUE is in a three-way tie with six points.
The Screaming Eagles earned a second consecutive 1-0 victory last time out on Thursday in a home match against the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. USI handed Little Rock its first loss of the conference season while USI matched its overall and conference win totals from the 2023 season.
Sophomore midfielder
Pilar Torres scored USI's lone goal against the Trojans in the 27
th minute, finding the back of the net for the second consecutive outing. Plus, Torres' goal Thursday was only the second goal the Trojans had conceded this year in Ohio Valley Conference action. Torres paced USI in the win with seven shots and three on goal. The last time a USI player had seven or more shots was by Katlyn Andres against Truman State University in October 2021 with eight attempts.
Coinciding with a strong defensive effort Thursday night, redshirt sophomore goalkeeper
Anna Markland earned her second consecutive shutout and the team's third this season. USI's netminder has a 1.67 goals against average and 64 saves this season after grabbing seven saves in Thursday's victory. Markland is second in the conference with 35 saves during the OVC slate.
With the goal on Thursday, Torres became the sixth USI player to score twice this season. Nine Screaming Eagles have found the back of the net in 2024. Torres leads USI with nine points off two goals and five assists. The sophomore's two game-winning goals and five assists rank among the top of the OVC. Torres also paces the Eagles with 26 shots and 12 shots on goal. Junior midfielder
Emerson Grafton is second on the squad with eight points off two goals and four helpers.
On the other side, SIUE is coming off a heartbreaking 2-1 defeat at Southeast Missouri State University on Thursday night. The Cougars tied the match 1-1 in the 86
th minute, but the Redhawks scored the game-winning goal in the very last seconds of the contest. SIUE had 11 shots and seven on goal compared to SEMO's three shots and two on target.
SIUE's junior forward Savannah DeFini tops the team this season with 13 points off a team-best five goals and three assists. Freshman forward MaryClaire Imig has a pair of goals and assists. Redshirt sophomore Abby Haskell has been the main keeper for the Cougars with 12 starts. Haskell has a 0.89 GAA, which ranks second in the OVC, and 28 saves.
Sunday's match is the 17th all-time meeting between Southern Indiana and SIUE. The Cougars lead the all-time series 11-2-3. The two sides have battled to scoreless draws in each of the last two meetings. The last goal in the series was scored in 2007 when both schools were in the Great Lakes Valley Conference at the Division II level.
Sunday's game can be seen with a subscription to ESPN+. Additional coverage links are available on the USI Women's Soccer schedule page on usiscreamingeagles.com.
