EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Soccer returns home to Strassweg Field Sunday at 1 p.m. when the Screaming Eagles host Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in an Ohio Valley Conference matchup.
 
Sunday's 1 p.m. clash kicks off a USI Soccer doubleheader at Strassweg Field. Admission is free courtesy of ProRehab. The game can also be seen with a subscription to ESPN. Sunday is USI's Mental Health Awareness match in partnership with the OVC's Mental Health Awareness Week. Fans are encouraged to wear green to help spread awareness of the importance of mental health.
 
USI Women's Soccer (5-5-4, 2-0-3 OVC) enters Sunday's OVC slate tied for third in the conference standings alongside the University of Arkansas at Little Rock with nine points. SIUE (2-9-3, 1-2-2 OVC) sits seventh in the league table with five points.
 
USI and SIUE have tied in each of the last three meetings, including a 1-1 draw at SIUE last season. The Cougars lead the all-time series 11-2-4, which dates to 1996 and when the two programs were Great Lakes Valley Conference rivals.
 
The Screaming Eagles carry a nine-match unbeaten streak into Sunday's kickoff, going 5-0-4 over the last nine outings. All five wins have come at home, while all four draws have been on the road. The current streak is a program best since 1998, when USI went unbeaten in 12 consecutive matches – a program record. In 1998, the Screaming Eagles went on to an 18-3-1 record and an NCAA II Tournament quarterfinals appearance. USI has outscored the opposition during the current streak, 15-4.
 
USI's five home wins already this season are a team best since the 2021 campaign. The five consecutive home wins as part of the current unbeaten streak mark the first time the Eagles have won five straight home contests since the 2020-21 spring championship season. During the current five-game home winning streak, USI has outscored the opposition 13-2.
 
The Screaming Eagles return home after a brief two-game OVC road swing that saw USI pick up back-to-back 1-1 draws this week at Little Rock last Sunday and at Eastern Illinois University on Thursday, adding to a program-best start to OVC play since USI joined the conference in 2022.
 
At Eastern Illinois on Thursday, the game was scoreless at halftime. After the break, Eastern Illinois struck first just over four minutes into the second half. The Screaming Eagles quickly responded in the 56^th minute to tie the match, as senior forward Peyton Murphy scored her third goal of the season off an assist by senior forward Emerson Grafton from a difficult side angle near the end line. Murphy's goal snapped the Panthers' six-game shutout streak. With the goal, Murphy moved up into the top 15 in USI history with 35 career points.
 
The Eagles have scored in their last four matches. It is the second four-game goal streak for USI this season. USI also scored in four straight outings between August 24 and September 4. Overall, the Screaming Eagles have tallied 19 goals this season, which is one shy of USI's best team total in a season in the program's D-I era. The Eagles netted 20 goals just last season in 2024.
 
Following Thursday's goal-scoring connection, Murphy and Grafton are tied for the team lead in scoring with nine points, with both having three goals and three assists this season. Their three assists rank in the top 10 in the OVC. Redshirt sophomore forward Eva Boer and sophomore forward Josie Pochocki also have three goals with one assist this season, giving them seven points on the year. Grafton and Boer are in the top 10 in the OVC with 29 and 28 shots, respectively.
 
In goal, redshirt junior goalkeeper Anna Markland has a 1.33 GAA with 38 saves and five shutouts this season. Markland's shutout total and goals against average are third and fourth, respectively, within the conference.
 
SIUE comes into Sunday's match off back-to-back results, claiming a 3-2 win last Sunday over Western Illinois University before a 0-0 draw on Thursday against Lindenwood University. The Lions outshot the Cougars 19-8 overall on Thursday but only 3-1 in shots on goal.
 
Senior forward Savannah DeFini is SIUE's leading scorer with six points and three goals. DeFini scored in last Sunday's game against Western Illinois, which was her first goal since the second match of the season back in mid-August. Three other Cougars have scored twice this season. DeFini and freshman midfielder Claire Nieroda lead the squad in shots with 26 and 24, respectively. Each has 11 shots on goal. Nieroda also scored in last Sunday's outing against Western Illinois.
 
Junior goalkeeper Sarah Bozeman has been the main netminder for the Cougars this season. Bozeman has a 2.35 GAA and 69 saves with a pair of clean sheets in 13 starts.
 
After Sunday's match, USI Women's Soccer will head back on the road Thursday for a 7 p.m. contest at Tennessee Tech University.