MARTIN, Tenn. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Soccer kicked off Ohio Valley Conference play on the road Saturday night, securing a point and extending its unbeaten streak to five matches with a 0-0 draw against the University of Tennessee at Martin.
 
USI (3-5-2, 0-0-1 OVC) notched a tie to begin OVC play for the third consecutive season on Saturday. For UT Martin (0-4-6, 0-0-1 OVC), the Skyhawks picked up their third straight 0-0 result and fifth scoreless draw this season. USI and UT Martin was the only OVC matchup on Saturday night, as the other contests are slated for Sunday.
 
The Screaming Eagles tallied 13 shots with four on goal in Saturday's game. Five Eagles recorded multiple shot attempts. Redshirt sophomore forward Eva Boer paced USI with three shots and placed one on target. Senior forward Emerson Grafton and sophomore defender Emma Schut each had two shots and one on goal.
 
Defensively, USI's defense and redshirt junior goalkeeper Anna Markland faced 23 shots and eight on goal by UT Martin's attack. Markland snagged a season-high seven saves, while the Eagles' defensive unit blocked seven shots. Markland and USI posted their fourth clean sheet of the season.
 
A back-and-forth battle all night saw the Skyhawks take the first swing with a couple of looks in the first 10 minutes. Then, USI came back the other way with a pair of shots on goal by Grafton and Boer over a three-minute span that UT Martin's goalkeeper saved. Minutes later, the Skyhawks changed direction and forced Markland to make a pair of saves before the 20-minute mark. The quick counters by both teams continued through the rest of the first half, with neither side willing to budge in the 0-0 deadlock going into halftime.
 
While the on-field tempo resumed to start the second half, it took a few minutes before the alternating shootout resumed. UT Martin grabbed some momentum in the attacking third but could not get one past Markland, who made three more saves in four minutes in the early going of the second half. USI got another shot on goal in the 69^th minute from junior forward Grace Bamber that UT Martin's goalkeeper saved. After that point, the two sides exchanged runs in the attacking thirds, but the defenses delivered stops to keep the match scoreless for the remainder of the contest.
 
The Screaming Eagles will continue OVC action this coming week at Strassweg Field for back-to-back home OVC contests. USI will next take on Morehead State University at 7 p.m. on Thursday from Strassweg Field. Admission to Thursday's game is free courtesy of ProRehab. The match can also be seen with a subscription to ESPN+.