EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Soccer opens its 2024 regular season Sunday with a road trip to Arkansas State University. The Screaming Eagles and Red Wolves kick off at 1 p.m. from Jonesboro, Arkansas.
 
The first all-time meeting between the two schools will begin USI's third D-I season of its transition period.
 
Southern Indiana enters the 2024 campaign coming off a 4-8-7 overall record and a 3-2-4 record in Ohio Valley Conference action a season ago. Following a six-match match unbeaten streak during conference play last October, the Screaming Eagles tied for third in the OVC standings in 2023 and earned the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament. USI's 2023 season ended against 8-seeded University of Arkansas at Little Rock in the quarterfinals with a 3-1 loss. USI will look to take another step forward in 2024 with a third consecutive OVC Tournament berth after going from an OVC first-round appearance in 2022 to being a quarterfinalist in 2023.
 
Head Coach Eric Schoenstein heads into his ninth season at the helm of the program and 11^th overall season on the women's soccer staff. The Screaming Eagles will be targeting win no. 75 for Schoenstein, who is second in wins in program history.
 
The 2024 USI squad featured 34 players – 22 returning players and 12 newcomers. Returning for the Screaming Eagles is reigning OVC Goalkeeper of the Year Anna Markland (Hoover, Alabama) between the posts. The redshirt sophomore also earned an All-OVC First Team selection in her first season with USI last year after posting a 1.21 goals against average with 73 saves and six shutouts.
 
Markland will have two key returning defensive backs in front of her in juniors Charli Grafton (Sunriver, Oregon) and Brynn Quick (Cottage Grove, Minnesota). Plus, USI also returns key attackers in last season's leading goal-scorer in sophomore Pilar Torres (Chula Vista, California) and leading shot-taker in junior Peyton Murphy (Bargersville, Indiana). Torres paced Southern Indiana with four goals in 2023 while Murphy's team-high 33 shots ranked eighth in the OVC. USI tallied 15 goals on 9.7 shots per outing.
 
In the 2024 Ohio Valley Conference preseason poll, Southern Indiana was projected to finish fifth in league play. Senior midfielder Maggie Duggan (Defiance, Missouri) represented USI on the 2024 OVC Preseason Players to Watch List as part of the preseason announcement. Duggan, one of four team captains, returns to the field this season following a season-ending injury in 2023 after starting the first four matches last season.
 
Arkansas State will be hosting its second consecutive home match and OVC school to start the season on Sunday. The Red Wolves, who were projected to tie for 10^th in the Sun Belt Conference during the preseason, are coming off a 2-0 season-opening win against the Little Rock Trojans. Arkansas State scored both goals in the first half, including the first goal within the first three minutes, and outshot Little Rock 15-9 in the contest.
 
Last season, Arkansas State scored 17 goals on 10.9 shots per game. The Red Wolves had two players top the team with three goals, including returning senior forward Aliyah Williamson. Redshirt junior midfielder Keelyn Peacock had the most shot attempts in 2023 with 27. Peacock scored Arkansas State's second goal on Thursday against Little Rock and had a team-high four shots.
 
Sunday's 1 p.m. match can be seen with a subscription to ESPN+. Additional coverage links are available on the USI Women's Soccer schedule page on usiscreamingeagles.com.