The University of Southern Indiana men’s soccer team will play Lewis University in the semifinals of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament at 5 p.m. Friday at Carroll Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. USI (11-6-0) is the seventh seed in the tournament, while Lewis (12-4-1) is the third seed and the highest remaining seed in the league tournament.
Following the semifinals, the GLVC Tournament championship game is slated for Sunday at 2 p.m. (CST) at Carroll Stadium. The GLVC is featuring the semifinals and the championship match on a neutral field for the second time in the history of GLVC men’s soccer. Live coverage of USI’s run through the post-season, including live statistics and video, can be found on GoUSIEagles.com.
Week 10 Eagle Notes:Â
GLVC leader in championships:Â USI has 10 GLVC men’s soccer titles since the conference was created in 1979, the most by any program in the league. The Eagles won the conference championships in 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1990, and 1991.
NCAA Tournament on the line:Â A berth in the NCAA Division II Tournament is on the line for the Eagles in the semifinals and championship games of the GLVC Tournament. For the first time in the history of the GLVC, men’s soccer has an automatic qualifier for national tournament. USI entered the conference tournament unranked in the Midwest Region.
Eagles advances in dramatic fashion: USI advanced to the GLVC Tournament semifinals for the 16thtime by defeating second-seeded Maryville University, 2-1, in double-overtime. The Eagles rallied from a 1-0 first half deficit with a second half goal by freshman defender Justin Raines (Bartlett, Tennessee) and the double-overtime game-winner by sophomore defender Drew Albert (Eureka, Missouri).
USI matches season-best winning streak:Â USI has won four-straight matches after posting the 2-1 overtime win over Maryville. The Eagles also have won eight of their last nine matches.
USI’s 2017 Offensive Leaders: Leading the USI offense this season is sophomore forward Eric Ramirez(Vincennes, Indiana), who has a team-high 16 points on six goals and four assists. Sophomore midfielder Sean Rickey (Columbia, Illinois) follows Ramirez in the scoring column with 11 points on five goals and one assist.  Senior midfielder Riley Belding (Columbus, Indiana) leads the squad with five assists during 2017.
USI down one to Lewis in all-time series:Â Entering Friday night’s match, USI trails Lewis by one game in the all-time series, 23-22-1, after losing the regular season match-up in Romeoville, Illinois, 2-1. The Eagles have won three of the last four meetings between the two programs.
Potential championship game opponents:Â Â The potential GLVC Championship game opponents for USI will be fourth-seeded University of Indianapolis (11-5-1) or eighth-seeded Missouri University of Science & Technology (8-6-3). USI leads the all-time series with UIndy, 21-14-0, after the Greyhounds took the regular season match in overtime, 2-1. The Eagles lost to the Greyhounds in the GLVC Tournament last year in the semifinals, 2-0.
The Eagles are behind in the all-time series with the Miners, 15-10-3, after USI won the regular season meeting, 2-1. The regular season win was the first over Missouri S&T for USI since 2007.
Santoro begins his ninth year: USI Head Coach Mat Santoro has a 75-69-16 overall record at the helm of the Eagles since 2009.
