EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Soccer makes a trip to St. Charles, Missouri, Thursday when the Screaming Eagles visit Lindenwood University in an Ohio Valley Conference showdown. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Southern Indiana (2-6-4, 1-0-2 OVC) carries its five-match unbeaten streak into Thursday's contest against Lindenwood (6-4-1, 2-0-1 OVC). The Lions enter the week tied for first in the conference with seven points, while USI sits fifth with five points through three conference games.
After alternating wins and ties in the last five matches (2-0-3), the Eagles aim to earn another positive result at Lindenwood to tie its best unbeaten streak since moving to Division I in 2022. USI had a six-match unbeaten streak last season (3-0-3 from October 1-October 19). USI recorded a win between two ties to start OVC play last week.
The Screaming Eagles have found an offensive spark in the last five matches, outshooting their opponents 68-49 (35-18 in the first half and 33-31 in the second half). Plus, USI has scored eight goals in the last four outings. The Eagles' six goals in conference play are the most by USI through three OVC matches in its D-I era.
Southern Indiana is coming off a 1-1 draw at home against Eastern Illinois on Sunday. After a slow start to the match, USI struck first in the 38th minute on freshman
Emma Schut's second goal of the OVC season. Despite USI being more aggressive and controlling play in the second half, Eastern Illinois tied the match with a goal in the 79th minute. USI outshot EIU 17-9 in the game with 11 of its 17 shots coming in the second half. Defensively, it was the second consecutive match that Southern Indiana held its opponent to a season-low nine shots.
This season, eight different Screaming Eagles have scored a goal with four players scoring twice. Alongside Schut, junior midfielder
Emerson Grafton, sophomore midfielder
Greta Ohlwein, and redshirt freshman
Eva Boer have also scored two goals this season. Next to Schut, junior midfielder
Peyton Murphy is the only other Screaming Eagle to score two goals in an OVC season. Murphy scored a goal in back-to-back OVC contests last year. Sophomore midfielder
Pilar Torres has also been an offensive threat lately, as USI's leading goal-scorer from 2023 has a team-high 17 shots with eight attempts in the team's three OVC games.
Lindenwood also heads into this week's tilt on a nice roll. The Lions have posted three straight results to begin the OVC schedule and have four wins in their last six matches. Lindenwood has totaled five shutouts on the campaign and has yet to allow a goal through three OVC matches. The Lions, who have allowed a conference-low 12 goals this season, have not surrendered a goal since September 12 against DePaul University. In its last outing, Lindenwood defeated Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, 2-0. The Lions scored both goals in the second half toward their first-ever win against SIUE.
On the season, sophomore Anna Johnson leads Lindenwood with three goals. Three other players have scored twice. One of those players is freshman forward Mackenzie Compton. Compton tops the squad with three assists and seven points while also having a team-high 29 shots and 15 on goal. In net, freshman goalkeeper Caroline Ritter and sophomore keeper Jordan Hollingsworth have split the goalkeeping duties. Hollingsworth has 18 saves and two shutouts in five starts, and Ritter has 23 saves and three shutouts in six starts. Ritter got the starting nod in the last match against SIUE.
Thursday's match is the seventh all-time meeting between Southern Indiana and Lindenwood. USI won last year's matchup, 3-0, at USI. The last meeting at Lindenwood was a 1-1 tie in October 2022. Lindenwood's only win in the series came in a 2-1 decision at the 2022 OVC Tournament.
Thursday'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.
