EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Soccer converted a pair of penalty kicks to grab a 2-1 Senior Day victory against Southeast Missouri State University on Sunday afternoon at Strassweg Field.
With the win, USI Women’s Soccer (5-5-2, 2-0-1 OVC) finished off an undefeated month of September as part of the team’s current seven-match unbeaten streak. USI went 4-0-2 in September and is 5-0-2 during the current streak.
USI picked up another three points in the OVC standings on Sunday after a second straight OVC home win, as the Screaming Eagles head into October second in the league table. Meanwhile, Southeast Missouri dropped to 0-11-1 overall and 0-2-1 in conference play.
On Sunday, redshirt sophomore forward Eva Boer and senior forward Peyton Murphy led the offensive charge for the Screaming Eagles, scoring a goal each. Boer doubled her single-game high with a career-best eight shots in the match, placing four on target. Murphy had four shots with two on goal. Senior forward Emerson Grafton had a trio of shot attempts for the Eagles. As a team, USI outshot the Redhawks 19-7 overall and 7-3 in shots on goal.
To open the match, early defensive takeaways led to offensive looks for USI. Boer collected a turnover and placed the game’s first shot on goal six minutes in. Just past the 20-minute mark, Murphy tallied a pair of shots toward the face of the goal; one was blocked, and another was saved by SEMO’s goalkeeper.
USI’s relentless pressure in the attacking half paid off in the 27th minute. A shot by Grafton was knocked down with a handball in the box, leading to an Eagles penalty kick. Murphy stepped up and cashed in on the penalty to put the Screaming Eagles in front, 1-0. It was Murphy’s second goal of the season and 11th career goal as USI’s D-I era scoring leader.
A few minutes later, Southeast Missouri built an attack that led to consecutive corner kicks. The Redhawks generated a long-range shot for their first attempt of the match, and USI redshirt junior goalkeeper Anna Markland made a diving save to her left and punched the ball away. Markland made another save during the sequence, as USI carried a 1-0 lead into halftime.
The Screaming Eagles began the second half with a quick shot from Boer that was saved. After a few more attempts, Grafton had a rocket in the 57th minute bounce downward off the crossbar, but it did not cross the goal line. The score remained 1-0 in favor of USI.
Southeast Missouri got one of its best chances with less than 20 minutes remaining when a ball landed toward an open far side of the goal, but the USI defense was able to clear the ball out just in the nick of time. However, the Redhawks scored in the 76th minute to knot the game up, 1-1.
Less than five minutes later, the Screaming Eagles answered back after drawing a second penalty kick and converting. For the second penalty, Boer stepped up and struck the ball into the net to push the Eagles back ahead, 2-1. It was Boer’s third goal of the season to tie for the team lead, as USI closed out the final 10 minutes to seal the win.
Before Sunday’s kickoff, USI hosted its Senior Day ceremonies to celebrate its 2025-26 senior class. Junior Grace Bamber, who is graduating a year early, was recognized alongside seniors Anna Markland, Emma Thurston, Charli Grafton, Peyton Murphy, Payton Seymour, Emerson Grafton, Brynn Quick, and Deklan Larring.
USI Women’s Soccer will return to action next Sunday, October 5, when the Screaming Eagles travel to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock for a Noon kickoff. The match can be seen with a subscription to ESPN+.
