MACOMB, Ill. – University of Southern Indiana Men's Soccer earned a 3-1 victory over Western Illinois University on Sunday afternoon in Macomb, Illinois, for its first win of the 2026 season.
USI (1-6-3, 1-2-0 OVC) earned its first victory in 367 days with Sunday's win over Western Illinois (3-6-2, 1-2-0 OVC). Plus, Sunday's triumph marked Head Coach
Mads Kaiser's first win at the helm of the Screaming Eagles.
Freshman midfielder
Christian Rotundo scored his second goal of the season to get the Screaming Eagles on the board on Sunday. Sophomore forward
Jimmy Murphy assisted Rotundo's first-half goal, giving him two assists this season. J. Murphy and his brother, sophomore midfielder
Tony Murphy, have combined for five assists, half of the Screaming Eagles' total this season.
Sophomore midfielder
Nolan Stevens later followed, finding the back of the net for the third time this season. All three of his goals have come in the second half of matches this week, with two against Eastern Illinois University on Thursday and one against the Leathernecks Sunday. Stevens connected with sophomore defender
Virgil Stevens for the second straight outing.
Sophomore midfielder
Oliver Church finished off USI's scoring on Sunday by notching his first goal of the season on a header in the 86th minute, with the helper going to senior midfielder
Ian Graham.
Senior goalkeeper
Kael McGowan finished with a career-high and a USI season-high 11 saves to lead USI's defensive effort in his second start of the season. McGowan faced 26 shots and 12 on goal from the Leathernecks. USI totaled 17 shots with six on target.
The Screaming Eagles got things started quickly Sunday afternoon, with Rotundo scoring inside the penalty area off an assist from J. Murphy. WIU created several scoring chances with 12 first-half shots, but McGowan made six saves, and the USI defense held strong to protect the 1-0 lead through halftime.
Much like the first half, USI took an aggressive approach to start the second. V. Stevens found N. Stevens from behind the halfway line in the 54th minute, setting up an impressive finish to give USI a 2-0 lead. The Leathernecks responded with a goal of their own in the 74th minute before Church added an insurance goal in the 86th minute to secure USI's first victory since a 4-1 win over Houston Christian University on October 2, 2025.
Sunday's win gave USI its first three points of the OVC season, propelling the Screaming Eagles up toward the middle of the conference standings.
USI will next travel to Houston Christian on Thursday to continue its three-game road trip. Thursday's match will begin at 7:30 p.m.
Team coverage for Thursday's match will be available on X (@USIMSOC) and Instagram (@usi_msoc). Live stats and ESPN+ coverage can be accessed at USIScreamingEagles.com
