EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Soccer opens Ohio Valley Conference Tournament play in the first round on Thursday at Noon when the fifth-seeded Screaming Eagles face eighth-seeded Southeast Missouri State University from Charleston, Illinois.
 
Thursday's winner advances to take on the site host and fourth-seeded Eastern Illinois University on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. in the quarterfinals.
 
Thursday is the fifth all-time meeting between USI (7-7-4, 4-2-3 OVC) and Southeast Missouri (2-14-2, 2-5-2 OVC). The all-time series is tied 1-1-2. In the regular-season meeting on September 28, USI won 2-1 at home against the Redhawks. Redshirt sophomore forward Eva Boer and senior forward Peyton Murphy scored for USI in that match.
 
USI is making its fourth consecutive OVC Tournament appearance since moving up to Division I and joining the Ohio Valley Conference in 2022. However, the Screaming Eagles are still seeking their first win in the conference tournament, having gone 0-3 in their first three appearances.
 
The Screaming Eagles concluded the regular season with a 1-0 road win at Western Illinois University last Sunday to clinch the fifth seed. Freshman Anna Depenbrock scored the game-winning goal and her first career goal in the 79th minute to help USI get past the Leathernecks.
 
USI's seven overall wins this season are the most for the program in a season since moving to Division I in 2022. USI's 4-2-3 OVC record matched the program's best OVC record, which came last season in 2024.
 
On Wednesday, sophomore defender Emma Schut was named to the All-OVC Second Team, and freshman defender Tierney Mullady was named to the OVC All-Newcomer Team for their first career postseason honors. Schut and Mullady were significantly impactful on the left side of USI's defensive line after moving into their respective roles and locking it down.
 
On the season, senior forward Emerson Grafton leads USI in scoring with 14 points on a team-high five goals and three assists. Grafton is top 10 in the OVC in shots (38), goals (5), assists (4), game-winning goals (3), and points (14). Murphy is second in scoring with nine points off three goals and three assists.
 
Redshirt junior goalkeeper Anna Markland has a 1.33 GAA with 46 saves and six shutouts, which is tied for third in the OVC. The Screaming Eagles' defense has been stout over the conference season. In OVC play, USI had the fourth-fewest goals allowed, with only seven conceded in conference action
 
Collectively, USI has scored a program D-I best 22 goals this season. 12 different Screaming Eagles have scored a goal this season, already passing the number of Screaming Eagles to score last season in 2024, with four different players having at least three goals on the year. The last season when USI had at least 12 different players score a goal was in 2021, which was also the last season USI had four or more players score at least three goals. USI was third in the OVC with 22 goals and 20 assists, adding up to third in the OVC with 64 points on the season. USI was also toward the top of the OVC in shooting.
 
Southeast Missouri enters postseason play coming off a scoreless draw against Morehead State University last Sunday to finish the regular season. The Redhawks' best stretch in OVC play came right after the first meeting against the Screaming Eagles, as SEMO won back-to-back matches against the University of Tennessee at Martin and Western Illinois University following its visit to USI.
 
As a team, SEMO scored 15 goals in the regular season and posted a respectable 46.2 shots-on-goal percentage. Junior forward Hayley Hogenmiller topped the squad with four goals on the season, including scoring the Redhawks' tally in the first meeting against USI. Junior midfielder Justi Nelson is SEMO's top shooter, leading the team with 30 shots. Nelson also has three goals and two assists. Nelson was named All-OVC Second Team, while Hogenmiller was on the OVC All-Newcomer Team. Between the posts, junior goalkeeper Madison Geisler is the Redhawks' leading netminder with a 1.81 GAA, 83 saves, and two shutouts in 12 starts.
 
All games of the 2025 Ohio Valley Conference Championship Tournament can be seen with a subscription to ESPN+. Additional coverage for USI can be found on usiscreamingeagles.com with full tournament coverage on the OVC website at ovcsports.com.