EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Soccer returns to Strassweg Field for its regular-season home finale on Sunday when the Screaming Eagles host Lindenwood University in an Ohio Valley Conference match at 1 p.m.
Admission to Sunday's match is free thanks to ProRehab. The game can also be seen with a subscription to ESPN+. Sunday is USI's annual pink game in helping spread awareness in the fight against cancer. Fans are encouraged to wear pink.
USI Women's Soccer (6-6-4, 3-1-3 OVC) leads the all-time series against Lindenwood (7-4-4, 4-2-1 OVC), 4-2-1, which dates to when both teams were Great Lakes Valley Conference foes. The Lions won last year's meeting in St. Charles, Missouri, 2-0, but USI won the last meeting at Strassweg Field in 2023, 3-0.
The Screaming Eagles have already clinched their fourth consecutive OVC tournament berth. USI heads into Sunday's slate in fifth in the OVC standings with 12 points, one point behind Lindenwood in fourth. With two regular-season games remaining, USI sits four points back of first-place Eastern Illinois University.
USI is coming off a 2-0 setback on Thursday at Tennessee Tech University. The loss was USI's first in OVC play and the first loss since August 28. USI went unbeaten in 10 consecutive matches before Thursday's final. The 10-match unbeaten streak was the second-longest in program history.
The Eagles have made the most of the friendly confines at Strassweg Field this season, as all six of USI's wins have come at home. USI's six wins this season are the most for the program in a season since moving to Division I in 2022. The last time USI had at least six home wins was in 2021, and the last time USI won at least six consecutive home matches was during the 2018 campaign when the Eagles won nine straight at home.
USI has spread out its attack this season, scoring 20 goals from 11 different Screaming Eagles. USI's 20 goals this season are tied for the most in the program's D-I history, as the Eagles netted 20 goals just last season in 2024. The last season when USI had at least 11 different players score a goal was in 2021. USI ranks third in the OVC in goals (20), assists (18), and points (58), while ranking top five in the conference in shots (194) and shots on goal (70).
Individually, senior forward
Emerson Grafton leads USI in scoring with 11 points off a team-high four goals and three assists. Grafton is in the top 10 in the OVC in shots (32), goals (4), assists (3), game-winning goals (3), and points (11). Senior forward
Peyton Murphy, who is USI's all-time Division-I leading scorer, is second on the team with nine points off three goals and three assists. Redshirt sophomore forward
Eva Boer, who is tied with Grafton with 32 shots this season, and sophomore forward
Josie Pochocki also have three goals this season.
Despite Thursday's outcome, USI's defense has been solid during the middle of the season and especially in OVC play. In conference-only action, USI is tied for the third-fewest goals allowed with only five conceded. In goal, redshirt junior goalkeeper
Anna Markland has a 1.28 GAA with 46 saves and six shutouts, which is tied for third in the OVC. Markland had six saves on Thursday against Tennessee Tech, which is the second-most this season for the netminder. Markland is seventh in USI history with 197 career saves.
Lindenwood enters the weekend with three consecutive shutout results, including back-to-back wins against Western Illinois University last Sunday and then handing Eastern Illinois its first OVC loss on Thursday. Both were 1-0 triumphs for the Lions. Lindenwood will finish the regular season with another tough road test a week from Sunday at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
Junior forward Anna Johnson paces the Lions in scoring with 10 points off a team-best four goals and a pair of assists. Johnson had the game-winning goal in Thursday's win against Eastern Illinois. Junior defender Allison Schrumpf is second on the squad with three goals. Sophomore forward Mackenzie Compton has a team-high 49 shots, as Lindenwood tops the OVC with 224 shots this season. Compton has two goals and a team-best three helpers.
Between the posts, sophomore goalkeeper Caroline Ritter has played every minute in goal, posting a 0.93 GAA with 63 saves and nine shutouts. Ritter's nine clean sheets lead the OVC, while her 14 goals surrendered are the second fewest in the conference.
After Sunday's match, there will be no OVC matches on deck during the week, as the regular season will conclude next Sunday, October 26. USI Women's Soccer closes out the regular season with a 1 p.m. kickoff next Sunday at Western Illinois.
