EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Soccer targets back-to-back results on Thursday when the Screaming Eagles conclude a three-match homestand against Valparaiso University. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. at Strassweg Field.
Admission to Thursday's match and all 2025 USI Soccer regular-season home games is free thanks to ProRehab. Thursday's match can also be seen with a subscription to ESPN+.
Thursday's match between USI (1-5-0) and Valparaiso (2-2-1) will be the first-ever regular-season meeting between the two programs. Valpo will also be the second consecutive opponent from the Missouri Valley Conference for USI. Last Sunday, the Eagles defeated Southern Illinois University, 2-0, at home for USI's first win of the season.
In Sunday's win against the Salukis, USI wasted no time finding the back of the net. Freshman midfielder
Paulina Campos got the Screaming Eagles on the scoreboard three minutes into the contest. USI held onto its 1-0 advantage for the next 86-plus minutes until freshman midfielder
Haley Kocher scored a breakaway goal to seal the win. Both goals were career firsts for the freshmen.
On Tuesday, USI earned an Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week honor for the second week in a row. Redshirt junior goalkeeper
Anna Markland was named OVC Goalkeeper of the Week after helping lead USI's defensive effort to pick up the team's first win and shutout of the season against Southern Illinois. Markland earned the honor for the fourth time in her USI career, as Sunday was her ninth career clean sheet.
Offensively, USI has been able to find its shots so far this season, ranking second among OVC teams with 74 total shots and 12.3 shots per game. After some tough luck early on, the Screaming Eagles have been on the upswing lately in goals scored, tallying six goals in the last three matches. Half of USI's six goals this season have been scored by freshmen, who have been impactful on both sides of the ball. Four freshmen have combined for eight starts through six matches, including freshman defender
Tierney Mullady with four starts and a goal scored.
Overall, this season, senior forward
Peyton Murphy is USI's leading scorer with three points off a goal and an assist. Murphy is tied for the team lead with shots on goal in seven total shot attempts. Senior forward
Emerson Grafton paces the Eagles with 14 shots, which is top five in the OVC. Redshirt sophomore forward
Eva Boer, who scored USI's first goal of the season, is second on the team with 10 shots.
Valparaiso heads into Thursday's game with two wins in its last three appearances. Last week, Valpo fell to Eastern Illinois University, 2-1, after the Panthers scored two unanswered goals in the second half. Then on Sunday, the Beacons flipped the result from Thursday with a 2-1 victory over Wright State University after scoring two unanswered goals in the second half to complete the comeback.
The Beacons' leading scorer is freshman forward Kiara Desiderio with six points off three goals. Desiderio scored twice in Valpo's match against Purdue University Fort Wayne on August 24. Desiderio also tops the squad with 13 shots and eight on goal. Freshman forward Martha Goddard has five points on the season with one goal and three assists. Goddard has an assist in three straight games, including one and a goal in the last match against Wright State. Redshirt junior goalkeeper Kate Sheridan has seen all the minutes between the posts for Valparaiso, posting a 1.20 goals against average with 19 saves.
After Thursday's contest, USI Women's Soccer will hit the road for the first time in two weeks when the Screaming Eagles travel Sunday to Bellarmine University and add another chapter between the former Great Lakes Valley Conference rivals. Kickoff Sunday is at Noon CT.
