USI suffers first OVC setback at Lindenwood

ST. CHARLES, Mo. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Soccer fell on the road, 2-0, at Lindenwood University Thursday evening. The loss was USI’s first Ohio Valley Conference setback of the season.
 
Going into Thursday, the matchup featured two of the three unbeaten teams in the OVC. Southern Indiana (2-7-4, 1-1-2 OVC) was riding a five-match unbeaten streak entering the contest.
 
The Screaming Eagles were tested early defensively, as Lindenwood (7-4-1, 3-0-1) came out with an aggressive tempo and assertive. USI redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Anna Markland made a few early saves on a busy night in goal. However, the Lions struck first in the 16^th minute.
 
While USI faced eight shots in the opening half from Lindenwood, the Eagles’ first shot on the attacking end came in the 36^th minute from junior midfielder Peyton Murphy. The one-goal deficit remained going into halftime.
 
With Southern Indiana looking to ramp up after the intermission and hopeful to generate a spark of momentum, Lindenwood doubled its advantage to 2-0 a minute into the second half.
 
The Screaming Eagles continued to face multiple shots from the Lions throughout the second half, but Markland was up to the challenge to keep the score 2-0.
 
On the offensive end, USI was able to pull the trigger on more shot attempts in the second half compared to the first, but Southern Indiana was kept out of the goal.
 
Overall, USI faced 19 shots and 13 on goal from Lindenwood. After making eight second-half saves, Markland finished with a career-high 11 saves on Thursday. The Eagles tallied seven shots with a pair on target. Murphy and sophomore midfielder Pilar Torres each had a shot on goal.
 
Following Thursday’s results, Southern Indiana is tied for fifth in the OVC with Eastern Illinois University. Lindenwood remained tied at the top of the standings with the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
 
The Screaming Eagles will next take on Tennessee Tech University on Sunday at 1 p.m. from Strassweg Field. Sunday is USI’s mental health awareness game and alumni day. Match coverage links can be found at usiscreamingeagles.com.