EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Soccer is projected to place seventh in the Ohio Valley Conference in a vote submitted by the league’s head coaches and communication directors. USI heads into its second season as an OVC member and NCAA Division I program.
The 10-team OVC will feature a schedule with each team playing each other once for a nine-match conference schedule. This year marks the 25th OVC Championship Tournament. The event starts on campus sites with the first round and quarterfinal matches on October 27 and 29, with the No. 3 and No. 4 seed hosting matches.
The event switches to the site of the No. 1 seed the following weekend with semifinal and Championship matches on November 2 and 5
Tennessee Tech University topped the OVC preseason poll with 156 points and 12 first-place votes. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville was picked second with 146 points and eight first-place votes.
Morehead State University picked up 126 points for a predicted third-place finish. Southeast Missouri State University is picked to finish fourth with 118 points while the University of Arkansas at Little Rock earned 88 points for fifth place. Lindenwood University (77) and Southern Indiana (66) were sixth and seventh, respectively. The University of Tennessee at Martin (63), OVC-newcomer Western Illinois University (35), and Eastern Illinois University (25) round out the poll.
As part of the OVC’s preseason announcement, sophomore midfielder Peyton Murphy (Bargersville, Indiana) represented USI on the 2023 OVC Soccer Preseason Players to Watch List. Murphy had a strong start to her USI career in 2022, leading the team in her freshman season with five goals and 12 points, both of which were third in the OVC. She also led the squad with 25 shots and 16 shots on goal, recording a 64 percent shot accuracy. Murphy started all 17 matches, playing 1,175 minutes. The midfielder was named to the OVC All-Newcomer Team at the end of last season.
The 2023 USI squad features 31 players – 17 returning players and 14 newcomers. Head Coach Eric Schoenstein heads into his eighth season at the helm and 10th overall season on the USI coaching staff. In the previous seven seasons as head coach of the Screaming Eagles, Schoenstein has accumulated a 70-44-18 record. USI earned an Ohio Valley Conference Tournament berth in its first season as an OVC member in 2022.
Also returning for USI in 2023 is senior midfielder Avery Schone (Galena, Ohio) and sophomore defender Charli Grafton (Sunriver, Oregon), both of whom scored a goal last season while holding down USI’s defensive midfield. USI also has senior leadership this coming season in defender Alexis Schone (Galena, Ohio) and midfielder Paige Vanek (St. Charles, Missouri). The two combined for 15 shots last season. Alexis Schone also tallied two assists.
USI plays one final preseason tune-up match at home against Murray State University on Saturday at 1 p.m. before opening the 2023 regular season on the road at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) on August 17. The Screaming Eagles will host their home opener at Strassweg Field on August 20 against the University of North Alabama. The first OVC contest of 2023 is September 21 when the Screaming Eagles travel to Little Rock.
2023 OVC Soccer Predicted Order of Finish
(as voted on by the league’s head coaches and communication directors)
1. Tennessee Tech (12 first-place votes) – 156
2. SIUE (8) – 146
3. Morehead State – 126
4. Southeast Missouri – 118
5. Little Rock – 88
6. Lindenwood – 77
7. Southern Indiana – 66
8. UT Martin – 63
9. Western Illinois – 35
10. Eastern Illinois – 25
2023 OVC Soccer Preseason Players to Watch
Cam Korhorn, Eastern Illinois
Karsen Kohl, Lindenwood
Amaya Arias, Little Rock
Erin Gibbs, Morehead State
Emma Brune, Southeast Missouri
Matea Diekema, SIUE
Peyton Murphy, Southern Indiana
Yao Giada Zhou, Tennessee Tech
Parker Gelinas, UT Martin
Emmy Ellington, Western Illinois
