University of Southern Indiana men’s soccer junior goalkeeper Adam Zehme (Orland Park, Illinois) stopped a University of Wisconsin-Parkside penalty kick with 1:11 remaining to preserve a 3-2 Screaming Eagles’ victory Friday night at Strassweg Field. USI, which has won four-straight, watched its record rise to 6-1-0 overall and 4-1-0 in the GLVC, while UW-Parkside falls to 2-4-1, 0-4-1 GLVC.
At 6-1-0 overall to start the year, the Screaming Eagles are off to their best start since 1986 when USI began the year, 5-1-2. The Eagles best start in the history of the program came in 1982 when they were 6-0-2 through eight games.
Zehme capped off his sixth win of the year with six saves, the final coming on a penalty kick at 88:49 after the Eagles were called for a foul in the box. The sixth win of the year also tied a career-high for Zehme.
It was the Rangers who struck first in the match with a goal at 28:12 and would hold the 1-0 lead until the last five minutes of the opening half. USI senior defender Michael Sass (New Palestine, Indiana) evened the match, 1-1, with his first goal of the year at 43:17.
Sass scored on a throw in from freshman midfielder Sean Rickey (Columbia, Illinois), heading the ball into the bottom left corner of the Rangers’ goal.
In the second half, USI took command with 30 minutes to play in the match by scoring a pair of goals in a span of five minutes. Junior midfielder Kyle Richardville (Vincennes, Indiana) gave USI a 2-1 lead at 60:37 when he put away the rebound of a shot by freshman forward Eric Ramirez (Vincennes, Indiana). The goal was Richardville’s second of the year.
Rickey extended the Eagles’ advantage to 3-1 with the eventual game-winning goal at 65:04. Freshman midfielder Adam Becker (Columbia, Illinois) and junior defender Jacob Dickerson (Louisville, Kentucky) assisted on Rickey’s third tally of the season.
The Rangers would make a game of it, closing the gap to 3-2 with a goal at 74:49. The USI defense would clamp down for the final 15 minutes, allowing UW-Parkside only two more shots at the Eagles’ goal, including the penalty kick.
USI concludes the GLVC home weekend Sunday at 2:30 p.m. when it hosts Lewis University. Lewis saw its record go to 1-6-0 overall, 0-5-0 GLVC, after losing in double overtime at Bellarmine University this evening, 1-0.
The Eagles trail the Flyers in the all-time series, 22-21-1, and hope to even the series on Sunday. USI, currently, has the momentum in the series, winning three of the last four.
