The University of Southern Indiana men’s soccer team took sole possession of first in the Great Lakes Valley Conference with a 2-1 victory over Maryville University Friday evening at Strassweg Field. The Screaming Eagles see their record go to 9-2-1 overall and 7-1-1 GLVC, while the Saints fall to 7-3-2, 6-2-1 GLVC.
The Eagles lead the GLVC field by a full game with three matches to play and can clinch a conference tournament first round home game with a win on Sunday.
USI had to rally to even the score at halftime, 1-1, on the first goal of the season by junior defender Drew Albert(Eureka, Missouri). Albert headed in a corner kick from junior midfield Adam Becker (Columbia, Illinois) at 43:33. Maryville had taken the lead, 1-0, seven minutes earlier at 36:54.
The Eagles took the lead for good early in the second half when junior defender Justin Brooks (Fishers, Indiana) headed in a cross from junior midfielder Adam Newman (Marion, Illinois) for the 2-1 lead at 55:43. The goal was Brooks’ first of the season.
The USI defense took over for the rest of the match as sophomore goalkeeper Justin Faas (Carmel, Indiana) posted his ninth win of the season. Faas allowed one goal and made five saves while facing 13 Maryville shots
The Eagles continue the four-match homestand Sunday when they host the University of Missouri-St. Louis at 2:30 p.m. The Tritons are 5-7-0 overall and 4-5-0 GLVC after falling to Bellarmine University, 2-0, at home this evening.
UMSL leads the all-time series with USI, 22-6-2, dating back to the beginning of the Eagles’ program in 1979. The Tritons also have the lead in the last five matches, going 3-1-1 versus the Eagles, including last year’s match that ended in a 2-0 UMSL victory in St. Louis.
