EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Soccer posted its second consecutive 1-0 victory Thursday night, as the Screaming Eagles defeated the University of Arkansas at Little Rock from Strassweg Field.
The result gave Southern Indiana (4-8-4, 3-2-2 OVC) its fourth overall win and third Ohio Valley Conference win to match both respective win totals from last season in 2023. On the flip side, USI handed Little Rock (7-6-3, 4-1-2 OVC) its first loss in conference play.
Southern Indiana came out pushing the tempo into the attacking half, taking a pair of early shots. Little Rock also had a stretch in the attacking half, leading to three saves in a 10-minute span by USI redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Anna Markland.
Minutes after redshirt freshman forward Eva Boer had a shot miss just above the crossbar, sophomore midfielder Pilar Torres had a shot saved. However, Torres would not be denied in the 27th minute, connecting on the backend of a pass across the front of the goal to give USI a 1-0 lead. The assists went to sophomore midfielder Kerigan Kivisto and junior forward Payton Seymour.
Torres’ second goal of the season came after also scoring the Eagles’ game-winning goal last time out against Morehead State University on Sunday. Junior midfielder Peyton Murphy was the last Screaming Eagle to score in consecutive matches, doing so in the fourth and fifth matches of OVC play in 2023, before Torres’ two goals this week.
The Screaming Eagles’ 1-0 lead carried into halftime as the defense blocked four shots and Markland made a couple more saves in the latter minutes of the first half. Both teams recorded 10 shots in the opening half.
After a couple of early looks out of the break from USI, the shot rate decreased as the match turned into a slugfest and a battle for possession until the midway point of the second half. The Eagles’ defense continued to stand tall by winning one-on-one and clearing the ball back up the field.
Torres and the Screaming Eagles sought a second goal and almost had one with under 10 minutes remaining, but a shot coming off a set piece was cleared away at the goal line. Then Little Rock went in the other direction with an opportunity. Markland came through and covered up a big save following a few deflections inside the box.
USI’s defense sealed the win with a pair of blocked shots and multiple clearances to expire the rest of the game clock.
For the contest, USI registered 15 shots with six on goal while Little Rock had 17 shots and seven on goal. Between the posts, Markland earned her second consecutive shutout and the team’s third this season with Thursday’s victory. USI’s netminder grabbed seven saves.
Torres’ goal Thursday was only the second goal the Trojans have conceded this year in Ohio Valley Conference action. Torres paced USI in the win with seven shots and three on goal. The last time a USI player had seven or more shots was by Katlyn Andres against Truman State University in October 2021 with eight attempts. After scoring in consecutive contests and picking up five assists previously this season, Torres now leads the squad with nine points on the campaign.
Through Thursday’s slate of matches around the OVC and with only two conference games remaining in the regular season, Southern Indiana is tied in fourth place with Eastern Illinois University at 11 points and only four points behind first-place Lindenwood University.
The Screaming Eagles will travel for their penultimate OVC regular-season match on Sunday when USI goes to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville for a 2 p.m. kickoff. Match coverage links can be found at usiscreamingeagles.com.
