COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Soccer battled Tennessee Tech University to a scoreless match through 110 minutes of action in Thursday's Ohio Valley Conference Tournament semifinal match, but the Screaming Eagles' historic 2025 season came to an end in a penalty-kick shootout after the Golden Eagles advanced on penalty kicks, 4-3.
 
USI Women's Soccer (9-7-5, 4-2-3 OVC), the fifth seed in the OVC Tournament, was making its first appearance in the semifinals of the conference tournament after recording its first-ever wins in the OVC Tournament last weekend. Meanwhile, top-seeded Tennessee Tech (6-6-8, 6-0-3 OVC) entered Thursday off a double-bye after winning its fourth consecutive OVC regular-season championship.
 
The first half saw both teams push into the attacking thirds, but the defenses held strong. USI's backline made several blocks and stops on the Golden Eagles. Redshirt junior Anna Markland made four saves in the opening 45 minutes, including a pair of diving saves. Just past the 25^th minute, a shot by Tennessee Tech was aimed and tried to dip inside the front post, but Markland dove and punched the threat away.  
 
Tennessee Tech totaled six shots with four on goal in the first half. Sophomore defender Emma Schut was responsible for USI's only shot attempt in the opening half.
 
After a couple of early looks by Tennessee Tech to start the second half, the game settled into a back-and-forth battle until the Screaming Eagles seemed to grab momentum past the 60-minute mark of the match. USI asserted its energy and put pressure on the Golden Eagles. The Screaming Eagles generated multiple shots down the stretch of regulation. One of USI's best looks late came with under 10 minutes left, as senior forward Emerson Grafton had a shot from the left side of the penalty box aimed toward the top-right corner saved. Despite several shot attempts by USI in the waning minutes of regulation, the match went to extra time.
 
With fatigue starting to set in for both teams, the extra time sessions went scoreless to send the match into a penalty-kick shootout. USI notched a couple of shots in extra time, while limiting Tennessee Tech to only one shot.
 
Each side missed in the first round of penalty kicks, as Markland delivered a save for USI right off the bat. After a Tennessee Tech miss to begin round two, Schut cashed in to put the Screaming Eagles ahead by one through two rounds. The two teams matched with makes in round three. The shootout evened out in round four after a make by Tennessee Tech and a miss by USI. The two sides remained equal after both converted their kicks in round five. The match was decided in the sixth round of penalties when Tennessee Tech converted its kick and proceeded to save USI's attempt to end the shootout and allowing the Golden Eagles to advance to the championship final on Sunday.
 
Overall, each team tallied 11 shots in the game. USI outshot Tennessee Tech 10-5 in the sessions after halftime. The Golden Eagles had five shots on goal, and the Screaming Eagles had two on target. Grafton and graduate midfielder Maggie Duggan led USI with three shots each. Markland finished with five saves.
 
For USI Women's Soccer, the Screaming Eagles wrapped up a historic season and their best season of the program's Division I era. USI recorded nine overall wins in 2025, the most for the program since 2021. Plus, USI's 10-match unbeaten streak during the middle of the season was the program's longest unbeaten stretch since 1998. The Screaming Eagles have made the OVC Tournament in each season of the D-I era, but 2025 saw the Screaming Eagles capture their first-ever wins in the OVC Tournament and make their deepest run since joining the OVC with a trip to the semifinals.