EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Soccer earned a 1-1 draw with Western Illinois University on Wednesday night. The Screaming Eagles move to 1-11-3, 1-4-1 Summit League, while the Leathernecks go to 2-6-7, 2-1-3 Summit League.
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It was a very strong defensive first half for both teams, going into halftime scoreless. Western Illinois went into the half with a 9-3 advantage in shots. Junior goalkeeper Alec Meissner (St. Charles, Missouri) went into the half with four saves and the USI defense was excellent on the back line.
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After the start of the second half, the Eagles missed a chance to take a 1-0 advantage but missed a penalty kick. The Eagles were awarded the penalty kick after Marco Presta was shown a red card after a hand ball in the box.
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The Leathernecks retook momentum with only 10 men, taking a 1-0 lead at the 54:27 mark with a goal from Kyle Owen.
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The Eagles settled down and used a corner kick to get the equalizer. Sophomore Mical Hardtman (Hamilton Parrish, Bermuda) fed a ball to the top of the box where graduate Nick Faddis (St. Louis, Missouri) was able to place a beautiful, curved shot into the bottom left-hand corner. USI had lots of chances on the offensive end to take the late lead but a strong stand by the Western Illinois defense kept the game tied till the final whistle.
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The Eagles narrowed the shot gap in the second half after having 10 shots. The Leathernecks would finish with a 14-13 advantage in shots and a 7-5 advantage in shots on goal. Freshman Jackson Mitchell (Newburgh, Indiana) and senior Ryan Nevins (St. Peters, Missouri) finished the match tied with the most shots for the Eagles with three apiece. Faddis and junior Zach Barton (St. Louis, Missouri) finished with two shots each. Meissner finished the match with five saves on the night.
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UP NEXT FOR USI
The Eagles return to Strassweg Field for the final time this season as they host St. Thomas University on Wednesday, November 2, with kickoff set for 2pm. USI then finishes the season on the road at Oral Roberts University on November 5.
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St. Thomas comes into the match with USI with a 2-10-2, 1-3-1 Summit League, record and take on Lindenwood University on Saturday before coming to Evansville. Carver Tierney is leading the Tommies in goals this season with three while Jacek Nickowski leads the team with six points on the year and is one of three players with three assists. St. Thomas has had three goalkeepers start multiple games this season while Tucker Mann has the most with nine. The Tommies as a team have allowed 34 goals this season while making 59 saves and have faced 213 shots.
