EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Soccer cut a two-goal deficit in half late in Sunday’s match against Wright State University, but the Screaming Eagles ran out of time and fell 2-1 to the Raiders at Strassweg Field.
Southern Indiana moved to 0-4-1 on the season with Sunday’s final score while Wright State tallied its first victory of 2024 to improve to 1-3-0.
Both teams took some time to settle into the match, as neither side recorded a shot until after the 10-minute mark of the first half. Then Wright State broke through in the 19th minute to take a 1-0 advantage.
USI responded with three shot attempts over the next handful of minutes. Senior midfielder Maggie Duggan (Defiance, Missouri) had USI’s best look at goal at 23:22 with one of her team-high three shots saved.
The visiting Raiders grabbed back control of possession and scored a second time at 27:26 of the opening half to take a 2-0 lead. The 2-0 scoreline held until halftime as Southern Indiana stopped a few more attempts late in the first.
The physicality intensified in the second half. Wright State was awarded a penalty kick in the 58th minute but missed it high and wide, keeping the score 2-0.
After making substitutions to get fresh legs in the match and ramping up the urgency, Southern Indiana created several chances in the middle of the second stanza from inside the 18-yard box. A shot each from junior forward Payton Seymour (Louisville, Kentucky) and sophomore midfielder Pilar Torres (Chula Vista, California) were kept out of the goal by Wright State.
The Screaming Eagles’ high-paced efforts led to a goal at the 76:24 mark to cut into Wright State’s lead. Redshirt freshman Eva Boer (St. Charles, Illinois) received a crisp pass from Torres, spun off her defender, and struck the ball past a diving goalkeeper. The goal was Boer’s second of the season.
The one goal was all USI could muster in the late frenzy before the match reached full time.
USI redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Anna Markland (Hoover, Alabama) finished the game with four saves on 10 shots faced and six on goal by the Raiders. Southern Indiana notched eight shot attempts with three on target.
The Screaming Eagles head back on the road Thursday against Purdue University Fort Wayne. Kickoff is at 4:30 p.m. (CT) from Fort Wayne, Indiana. Coverage links of the match can be found at usiscreamingeagles.com.
