EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Soccer wraps up a brief two-game Ohio Valley Conference road swing on Thursday at 3 p.m. when the Screaming Eagles visit Eastern Illinois University.
 
Thursday's match can be seen with a subscription to ESPN+.
 
USI Women's Soccer (5-5-3, 2-0-2 OVC) heads into Thursday's kickoff tied for second with Tennessee Tech University in the Ohio Valley Conference standings with eight points. Eastern Illinois (7-4-2, 4-0-0 OVC) sits atop the league table with 12 points.
 
USI and Eastern Illinois have split the first three meetings in the all-time series, 1-1-1. The two sides tied 1-1 in last season's meeting at USI. EIU won 2-1 in USI's last visit to Charleston, Illinois, in 2023.
 
The Screaming Eagles began this week's road swing with a 1-1 draw at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock on Sunday. The result extended USI's unbeaten streak to eight matches and gave the Eagles their fourth OVC result. USI is off to its best start in OVC play since joining the conference in 2022.
 
Against the Trojans, USI responded to a 1-0 halftime deficit with an equalizing goal in the second half by sophomore defender Emma Schut. It was Schut's first goal of the season, as she became the 11^th different Screaming Eagle to score a goal this season. The last season when USI had at least 11 different players score a goal was in 2021.
 
USI has gone 5-0-3 during the current unbeaten streak, featuring five home wins and three road draws. The current streak is the program's best since the end of the 2018 season. USI has outscored the opposition during the stretch, 14-3.
 
Senior forward Emerson Grafton continues to top the USI squad with eight points off three goals and two assists this season. Redshirt sophomore forward Eva Boer and sophomore forward Josie Pochocki are tied for second with seven points off three goals and an assist. Senior forward Peyton Murphy also has seven points off two goals and three assists. Murphy's three assists are in the top 10 in the OVC. Grafton and Boer are top 10 in the OVC in shots with 28 and 27 attempts, respectively. In goal, redshirt junior goalkeeper Anna Markland has a 1.35 GAA with 36 saves and five shutouts, which is tied for third in the OVC.
 
Overall, USI is second in the OVC with 18 goals and tied for first with 15 assists, adding up to second in the OVC with 51 points on the season. The Screaming Eagles also rank second in the conference with 164 shots and top five with 62 shots on goal.
 
On the flip side, Eastern Illinois ranks inside the top five in the OVC in scoring. However, the Panthers have been among the OVC's best defensively, ranking second in the fewest goals allowed (13) and goals against average (1.00). Plus, the Panthers have an OVC-best seven shutouts on the year.
 
Like the Screaming Eagles, the Panthers had a bit of a slow start in August but really kicked into gear in September. Besides four straight wins to begin OVC play, Eastern Illinois is on a seven-match unbeaten streak (5-0-2), also going undefeated in September. Additionally, the Panthers have posted six consecutive clean sheets, as they have not allowed a goal since a 1-1 tie against Indiana State University on September 4. EIU's goal differential in conference play is 8-0 and 11-1 during their current unbeaten streak.
 
Last time out, Eastern Illinois picked up a 1-0 home win against Morehead State University last Sunday. In a balanced matchup, junior forward Abby Reinl scored the game-winning goal in the 21^st minute, as EIU's defense maintained the one-goal advantage for the rest of the match.
 
Reinl is tied with junior forward Alex Tetteh for the team lead in goals with six. Tetteh, who also has one assist this season, has a one-point advantage for the team high in points over Reinl with 13 points. Both have taken a team-high 27 shots this season, with Reinl having 13 on goal and Tetteh having 11 on target. Between the posts, junior goalkeeper Ella Kratochvil leads the OVC with a 0.75 GAA, .864 save percentage, and seven shutouts. Kratochvil, the back-to-back reigning OVC Goalkeeper of the Week, has 57 saves in 12 starts this season.
 
Following Thursday's road contest, USI Women's Soccer returns home to Strassweg Field on Sunday afternoon for a 1 p.m. tilt against Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Sunday is USI's Mental Health Awareness match in partnership with the OVC's Mental Health Awareness Week.