Graftons take home OVC Player of the Week honors
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Soccer junior sisters Emerson Grafton and Charli Grafton earned Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week honors on Tuesday. Emerson was named OVC co-Offensive Player of the Week and Charli was named OVC Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season.
The Graftons helped lead Southern Indiana to a 3-0 home win against Western Illinois University on Sunday to conclude the regular season. With the win, USI grabbed its fourth consecutive positive result and secured the No. 4 seed in the OVC tournament.
Emerson Grafton picked up her first OVC weekly honor after playing a crucial role on the attacking end in Sunday’s victory. Grafton tallied a goal and an assist against the Leathernecks while also placing three of four shots on goal. Grafton’s assist led to USI’s second goal of the match in the 56th minute by junior midfielder Peyton Murphy. Grafton’s score came in the 84th minute off a give-and-go pattern with freshman midfielder Ana Munyon. Following Sunday’s performance, Grafton moved into the team lead in goals (3), assists (6), points (12), and shots on goal (14), while jumping to second in the conference in assists.
Charli Grafton was strong once again as USI’s centerback anchor against Western Illinois. Grafton made several key tackles and stops in helping the Eagles record their fourth shutout of the season and third clean sheet in the last four matches of the regular season. Grafton and the USI defense held Western Illinois to one shot in the first half and blocked multiple attempts in the second half. Grafton played another full 90 minutes, doing so for the 16th time this season and 13th consecutive contest.
The Graftons and Southern Indiana (5-8-5, 4-2-3 OVC) will host a first-round and quarterfinal match of the OVC Championship Tournament later this week as the No. 4 seed. USI has a first-round bye and awaits the winner on Sunday, November 3, of the first-round 5/8 matchup between Morehead State University and the University of Tennessee at Martin on Thursday, October 31. Both days are slated for 1 p.m. kickoffs from Strassweg Field.
All games of the 2024 Ohio Valley Conference Championship Tournament can be seen with a subscription to ESPN+. Additional coverage for USI can be found on usiscreamingeagles.com with full tournament coverage on the OVC website at ovcsports.com.
