FORT WAYNE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women's Soccer opened its 2026 road schedule on Sunday with a 0-0 draw at Purdue University Fort Wayne, marking the Screaming Eagles' second clean sheet of the season.
A strong defensive performance on Sunday afternoon gave USI (0-2-2) its second result and shutout of the regular season. Additionally, after Purdue Fort Wayne (0-1-1) won the first three meetings of USI's Division I era, the Screaming Eagles have now recorded back-to-back results against the Mastodons, including a home win last season.
Quality looks on goal came at a premium on Sunday, with USI getting three shots on goal. However, USI's defense limited Purdue Fort Wayne to only two shots on target. Overall, the Screaming Eagles fired 12 shots, while the Mastodons had eight shots.
Offensively, junior forward
Josie Pochocki led USI with three shots, including one on goal. Graduate forward
Payton Seymour and sophomore forward
Anna Depenbrock took two shots apiece.
Defensively, sophomore goalkeeper
Merrick Schwalbach collected two saves behind a strong backline effort in earning her third career shutout. Junior defender
Emma Schut, sophomore defender
Tierney Mullady, sophomore defender
Paulina Campos, and senior midfielder
Kamryn Bea each recorded a full 90 minutes played in front of Schwalbach.
Defenses were strong from the opening kickoff. Each side tallied only three shots in the first half. Pochocki had two of USI's three shots in the first half, joining freshman forward
Brylee Patterson with a shot on goal. The Screaming Eagles applied pressure late in the first half, with five corner kicks in the final 10 minutes before halftime. However, the match remained tied 0-0 going into the break.
In the second half, USI's defense thwarted a few early set pieces by Purdue Fort Wayne, as it did in the early minutes of the first half. Prior to the 65
th minute, the Screaming Eagles had a pair of shots blocked, while freshman forward
Sienna Respicio had a shot on goal saved by the Mastodons' goalkeeper. After junior defender
Ava Hess had to exit the match in the 76
th minute due to injury precaution, freshman defender
Lilah Katz came on and joined the rest of the backline for the last 14 minutes to help keep the shutout intact. Even though Depenbrock had a couple of looks in the final five minutes for USI, neither team notched a shot on goal in the last 20 minutes of the match to keep the scoreboard tied at zero at the final whistle.
Next, USI Women's Soccer returns home to Strassweg Field next Sunday, August 30, when the Screaming Eagles host Purdue University at 1 p.m. The match will be a 'White Out' as USI hosts its first power-conference opponent at Strassweg Field.
