EVANSVILLE, Ind.- University of Southern Indiana Men's Soccer opens its Ohio Valley Conference campaign against Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia September 27. Kickoff against the Flames is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT.
Saturday's match can be viewed with a subscription to ESPN+.
USI (1-6-0) matches up with Liberty (4-2-2) for the third time, with the Screaming Eagles trailing the all-time series 0-1-1. Southern Indiana fell 5-0 in last year's trip to Lynchburg.
The Eagles aim to turn a new page in conference play. After they fell 3-0 to Purdue Fort Wayne on Tuesday, they seek to bounce back with a strong performance in their conference opener.
Last match, the Mastodons' potent offense dominated the game. Fort Wayne was able to score two first-half goals at the 20:42 and 39:57 marks, while stifling USI's counter push. Eagles' freshman midfielder
Isaac Weidner recorded the team's lone first-half shot on goal.
The second half turned into a defensive battle with the Eagles limiting the Mastodons to one goal in the 86th minute, despite six shots on goal. Weidner tallied the team's second shot on goal, while junior midfielder
Will Kirchhofer and freshman midfielder
Brian Novillo each had a shot. Freshman goalkeeper
Andre Faerman saw his first collegiate action, saving five shots.
The Flames enter OVC play on a two-match losing streak to United Soccer Coaches No. 17 University of North Carolina Greensboro (3-1) and No. 13 Wake Forrest University (7-0). Liberty opened the season notching six straight results, four wins and two draws, before the past two matches.
Liberty is led by junior defender Lucas Kelly, who has four goals and one assist so far this season. Followed closely by junior forward Leo Conneh and senior forward Sam Farner, who have each totaled three goals and two assists.
As a team, the Flames have outscored their opponents 19-13, averaging 2.38 goals a game while limiting the competition to 1.62. Liberty's offense puts up 13.9 shots per game while the defense allows its opponents 8.9.
Following Saturday's OVC opener at UT Martin, USI Men's Soccer returns to Strassweg Field next week for back-to-back conference contests against Houston Christian University on Thursday and the University of the Incarnate Word next Sunday.
