EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Soccer looks to get back on track in Ohio Valley Conference play Sunday when the Screaming Eagles host Tennessee Tech University at 1 p.m. from Strassweg Field.
Sunday is USI Women's Soccer Alumni Day and Mental Health Awareness Day. Fans are encouraged to wear green to help raise mental health awareness.
Southern Indiana (2-7-4, 1-1-2 OVC) enters the weekend in a tie for fifth in the OVC standings with Eastern Illinois University. Tennessee Tech (3-7-4, 3-1-0 OVC) is third in the league table.
USI seeks to bounce back Sunday after suffering its first setback of the OVC season, a 2-0 loss to Lindenwood University on Thursday. The Screaming Eagles had trouble finding a spark in the attacking half with seven shots and two on goal compared to Lindenwood's 19 shots and 13 on target. Thursday's defeat ended Southern Indiana's five-match unbeaten streak.
In Thursday's contest, redshirt sophomore goalkeeper
Anna Markland collected a career-high 11 saves against the Lions, the most by a USI keeper since current volunteer assistant coach
Maya Etienne tallied 12 saves at Southeast Missouri State University in 2022. The reigning OVC Goalkeeper of the Year now has 50 saves this season and a 1.76 goals against average.
The Screaming Eagles hope the return to friendly surroundings at Strassweg Field on Sunday will help recreate the offensive spark USI had in its previous two matches. Between the win against the University of Tennessee at Martin and the tie against Eastern Illinois University to conclude the month of September, USI totaled 37 shots. Sophomore midfielder
Pilar Torres had five of those shots and has nine shot attempts in the last four matches. Torres leads USI this season with 18 shots and has placed a shot on goal in five consecutive outings.
On the season, eight different players have scored a goal with freshman midfielder
Emma Schut, junior midfielder
Emerson Grafton, sophomore midfielder
Greta Ohlwein, and redshirt freshman forward
Eva Boer recording two goals each. Boer returned to the field from injury at Lindenwood for her first appearance since September 8, while Ohlwein also returned for her first appearance since the conference opener on September 22 at SEMO.
Tennessee Tech has gotten a strong start in the OVC after a tough non-conference slate. Following a conference-opening loss, the Golden Eagles have won three straight games behind three shutouts. Tennessee Tech won 1-0 against Morehead State on Thursday with reigning OVC Offensive Player of the Week Katie Toney scoring the game's only goal.
While Toney has five goals this season, the Golden Eagles are led offensively by sophomore forward Neve Renwick with seven goals, 16 points, 62 shots, and 26 shots on goal. Renwick leads the OVC in all four categories this season. Renwick was the OVC Freshman of the Year in 2023.
The Golden Eagles actually swept the OVC's Player of the Week honors this past week. Alongside Toney, senior Meredith Nye earned OVC Defensive Player of the Week, and junior netminder Maggie Conrad was OVC Goalkeeper of the Week. Conrad has a 1.85 GAA with 83 saves and three clean sheets in 2024.
Sunday's match is the third all-time meeting between Southern Indiana and Tennessee Tech. The Golden Eagles have won the first two meetings by a combined score of 11-0. Tennessee Tech won the first meeting at Strassweg Field, 4-0, in 2022 before taking last year's match in Cookeville, Tennessee, 7-0.
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.
