EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Soccer opens its 30^th season and its first as a full-fledged NCAA Division I member Thursday when the Screaming Eagles travel to the University of Nebraska for a 7 p.m. contest.
 
Thursday's game against the Big Ten Conference foe Cornhuskers will be the Screaming Eagles' first match against a major conference opponent in regular-season action since transitioning to the Division I level in 2022. Thursday is the first-ever meeting between USI and Nebraska.
 
USI enters the 2025 campaign after a 5-9-5 overall record and a 4-2-3 record in Ohio Valley Conference play a season ago. The Screaming Eagles finished fourth in the OVC standings. USI's 2024 season ended against fifth-seeded Morehead State University in the conference tournament quarterfinals with a 2-1 loss. USI was projected to finish sixth in the 2025 OVC Predicted Order of Finish.
 
Despite falling in the OVC quarterfinals for a second consecutive season, the Screaming Eagles set new program marks in their D-I era. In year three of Division I, USI recorded its most OVC wins (4), conference points (15), and goals scored (20). USI also clinched an OVC tournament berth for the third consecutive season.
 
The 2025 USI squad features a nice mix of returners and newcomers – 18 returning players and 13 newcomers. The Eagles have 10 players returning who saw significant minutes in their starting 11 last year. Southern Indiana brings back nearly 80 percent of minutes played, over 73 percent of its goal scoring, and 67 percent of its total scoring from 2024.
 
Returning for the Screaming Eagles includes seniors Charli Grafton and Emerson Grafton, both of whom were named Second-Team All-OVC in 2024. Charli Grafton anchored USI's defense, while wing forward Emerson Grafton paced Southern Indiana with 12 points on a team-high six assists (second in the OVC) and tied for a team-best three goals. Redshirt sophomore forward Eva Boer also notched three goals last season and was named to the OVC's 2025 Preseason Players to Watch List. Between the posts, redshirt junior goalkeeper Anna Markland made 18 starts and registered a 1.56 GAA with 78 saves and two solo shutouts last season.
 
Head Coach Eric Schoenstein heads into his 10th season at the helm and 12th overall season on the women's soccer staff. In the previous nine seasons as head coach of the Screaming Eagles, Schoenstein has tallied a 79-61-30 record.
 
Following a three-year reclassification period from Division II to Division I, the 2025 season will mark the first in which USI is eligible for potential NCAA postseason championship berths. Southern Indiana was granted status as a full-fledged D-I member at the end of June.
 
For Nebraska, the Cornhuskers come off a 6-10-1 season in 2024 with a 3-7-1 record in the Big Ten Conference. Nebraska was projected 12^th in the Big Ten Women's Soccer Preseason Poll.
 
Nebraska has some roster turnover heading into 2025 despite returning 10 letterwinners. The Cornhuskers have 15 newcomers joining the squad.
 
Nebraska's top-returning goal scorer from last season is sophomore defender/midfielder Reese Snowden, who was second on the team with four goals in 2024 behind graduated forward Sarah Weber's 11 goals. In goal, senior goalkeeper Cece Villa registered a 1.80 GAA in nine starts with 44 saves and ranked second in the Big Ten with 4.89 saves per game.
 
Graduate forward Reagan Raabe, who was All-Big Ten Third Team in 2021 and 2022 before injury-plagued seasons in 2023 and 2024, was named one of Nebraska's Big Ten Players to Watch alongside senior defender Lauryn Anglim and senior midfielder Sadie Waite.
 
Thursday's match from Nebraska can be streamed with a subscription through Big Ten Plus.