The University of Southern Indiana men’s soccer team is eyeing its 11th Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament championship when it starts semifinal action Friday evening against top-seeded McKendree University at Woerhle Athletic Complex in Jeffersonville, Indiana. Match time is set for 6:30 p.m. (CST).
The winner of the fifth-seeded USI/McKendree match-up will play the winner of the first semifinal match that features second-seeded Bellarmine University and third-seeded Maryville University for the GLVC Championship. The GLVC Championship game is Sunday at 2 p.m. (CST).
Match coverage for USI in the GLVC Tournament can be found on GoUSIEagles.com.
Week 11 – Eagle GLVC Tournament Notes:Â
Santoro needs one to break: Head Coach Mat Santoro needs one win to surpass former Head Coach Tony Colavecchia for the all-time lead in wins for the USI men’s soccer program. Santoro, who has a 97-80-21 overall record at the helm, has guided the Eagles to a pair of NCAA II Tournament appearances; the 2018 GLVC regular season crown, and six GLVC Tournament appearances during his tenure. Colavecchia was 97-59-11 (.614) between 1988 and 1995.
USI earns trip to semifinals with upset win: The Screaming Eagles earned a trip to the GLVC semifinals after posting a 3-2 upset win over fourth-seeded University of Indianapolis. USI senior midfielder Sean Rickey scored a pair of goals, including the game-winner, to lead the Eagles.
Mad dash to the finish: After starting the year 0-3-2, the Eagles won eight of the last 12 regular season matches, going 8-3-1. Overall, USI also won five of the last six matches to move from 11th to fifth in the GLVC standings.
Season leaders: USI is led in scoring by senior midfielder Sean Rickey with 22 points on seven goals and a team-best eight assists (second in the GLVC), while senior forward Eric Ramirez and freshman forward Zach Barton follow with 14 points each on five goals and four assists.
Career scoring leaders: USI senior midfielder Sean Rickey and senior forward Eric Ramirez are climbing up the Eagles’ all-time leader boards. Ramirez tied Chris King (1987-90) for fifth all-time with 29 goals and is ninth all-time with 69 points. Rickey is sixth all-time in assists (20) and all-time in points (80), while tying for fifth in goals scored (29).
Between the posts: Junior goalkeeper Justin Faas has a 0.95 goals against average this fall. He has an 9-2-3 record overall and five shutouts. Faas is eighth in the GLVC with a 0.95 goals against average and is fifth in saves with 60.
McKendree in 2019:  24th-ranked McKendree won the GLVC regular season after a 12-1-2 conference mark and a 14-2-2 overall record. The Bearcats advanced to the semifinals after defeating eighth-seeded Drury University, 3-2, to win their 12th match of the last 13.
USI versus Bearcats:Â USI leads the all-time series with McKendree, 7-4-3, after the squads battled to a 1-1 double-overtime tie to kick off the GLVC schedule in September.
USI versus Bellarmine:Â USI leads the all-time series with Bellarmine, 25-15-2, despite dropping a 5-1 decision to the Knights in September.
The Knights in 2019:Â 12th-ranked Bellarmine finished second in the GLVC after posting an undefeated record of 10-0-4, going 14-0-4 overall. The Knights advanced to the semifinals by defeating seventh-seeded Lindenwood University, 8-2.
The Saints in 2019:Â The 17th-ranked Saints of Maryville are 15-2-2 overall and placed third in the GLVC with an 11-2-2 mark in 2019. Maryville advanced to the semifinals with a 2-1 overtime victory against sixth-seeded University of Illinois Springfield.
USI versus Maryville:Â USI leads the all-time series with Maryville, 9-3-1, despite the 2-1 overtime loss in the final weekend of the regular season.
Overall GLVC Championships by the Eagles:Â Â USI has 11 GLVC men’s soccer titles since the conference was created in 1979, the most by any program in the league. The Eagles won the conference tournament championships in 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1990, and 1991; and the regular season title in 2018.
USI all-time in the GLVC Tournament:Â The Eagles have a 33-9-2 all-time record in the GLVC Tournament.
