Eagles fall to Cougars in 2nd half

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Soccer allowed four second half goals in falling to OVC front-running Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, 4-0, Sunday evening in Edwardsville, Illinois. The Eagles go to 1-11-3 overall and 0-5-3 in the OVC, while the Cougars are 12-0-3, 7-0-1 OVC.
 
USI and SIUE were scoreless after the first 45 minutes with USI junior goalkeeper Braden Matthews (Princeton, Indiana) leading the way defensively. Matthews survived a few close calls and made five saves in keeping the Cougars off the scoreboard in the first half.
 
In the second half, the Cougars took control of the match with a pair of goals one minute apart and another set just over two minutes in between. SIUE scored the eventual game-winner at 62:31 and sealed USI’s fate with a second tally at 63:35. The final set of goals came at 80:29 and 82:32 to close out the scoring in the 4-0 decision.
 
Offensively, USI had a few chances in the final 45 minutes, but could find the back of the goal. USI sophomore midfielder Ednilson Voiles (Haiti), senior midfielder Nick Faddis (St. Louis, Missouri), and senior forward/midfielder Dan Hartman (Seymour, Indiana) had a shot on-goal each, but could not get the Eagles on the board.
 
Despite the loss, USI is still in the hunt for a berth in the OVC Championship, which is scheduled for November 5-11 at SIUE. The Eagles need a victory in each of their last two matches to stay in the race with Eastern Illinois University and Chicago State University for the sixth and final spot in the tournament.
 
NEXT UP FOR USI:
The Eagles finish the two-match road swing Thursday when it returns a trip to EIU for a 4 p.m.
 
EIU is 3-8-3 overall and 2-4-1 OVC after tying Lindenwood University, 1-1, this afternoon on the road. The Panthers lead the all-time series with the Eagles, 9-2-0, after posting a 2-0 win over USI last week at Strassweg Field.
 
USI finishes the 2023 regular season at Strassweg Field October 29 at 5 p.m. versus Lindenwood University, which will start the week 6-4-6 overall and 3-1-4 in the OVC after the tie with EIU. Game time for USI-Lindenwood has been changed due to USI Women’s Soccer hosting the first and second rounds of the OVC Women’s Soccer Championship.