EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - University of Southern Indiana Men's Soccer fell 3-1 at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in the opening Ohio Valley Conference matchup Saturday night.
The Screaming Eagles (0-5-3, 0-1-0 OVC) could not make a second-half comeback after the Cougars (3-4-1, 1-0-0 OVC) scored twice after halftime and USI played a man down for most of the second half.
Sophomore midfielder
Edin Cvorovic scored his second goal of the season and fourth career goal in the match. Sophomore midfielder
Tony Murphy added an assist on the goal, his third of the season.
SIUE got things started Saturday night quickly, scoring in the second minute of the match. The Screaming Eagles responded in the 25th minute with the goal by Cvorovic, who headed the ball into the net to tie it 1-1. USI had four more scoring opportunities to close out the half but could not convert.
Like the first half, the Cougars struck early and scored on a penalty kick awarded after a VAR review to take a 2-1 lead. A couple of minutes later, USI faced more adversity after receiving a red card and was forced to play a man down the rest of the match. SIUE capitalized late in the second half, adding another goal in the 86
th minute to close out the match.
USI returns to Strassweg Field on Thursday, October 1, for the first time since September 8, to take on Eastern Illinois University at 5 p.m. The Ohio Valley Conference matchup will be the first of two matchups this season between the two teams.
Team coverage for Thursday night's game will be available on X (USIMSOC) and Instagram (usi_msoc). Live stats and ESPN+ coverage can be accessed at USIScreamingEagles.com.
