The University of Southern Indiana men’s soccer team hope to finish strong when it wraps ups up the 2019 regular season at home this weekend. The Screaming Eagles start the regular season-ending homestand with Maryville University Friday night at 7:30 p.m. and conclude it with Missouri University of Science and Technology Sunday at 2:30 p.m. for Senior Day.
The eight USI seniors – defender Markus Poulson; midfielder Sean Rickey; defender Jonathan Faas; defender Drew Albert; forward Eric Ramirez; defender Adam Newman; midfielder Adam Becker; and midfielder Morgan Kelly –  will be honored prior to the start of the game Sunday. Match coverage can be found on GoUSIEagles.com.
Week 9 Eagle Notes:Â
USI surpass .500 mark: The Screaming Eagles surpassed the .500 for the first time this season after sweeping both ends of their road trip, defeating Truman State University, 4-1, and Quincy University, 2-1. USI senior defender Drew Albert led the Eagles with a pair of goals, including the game-winner at Quincy, and senior midfielder Sean Rickey, who had a goal, including the game-winner at Truman State, and two assists, during the road trip
Season-best winning streak:Â USI has won four-straight games, marking the best winning streak of the season. The Eagles also have won seven of its last 10 matches, going 7-2-1.
In the GLVC:Â The Eagles start this week’s action tied for fifth in the GLVC standings with Lindenwood University, 1.5 games behind fourth-place University of Indianapolis. USI also leads seventh-place Drury University (8-6-2, 6-5-2 GLVC) by one game. The top eight teams qualify for the GLVC Tournament with the top four earning the right to host a first round match.
Season leaders: USI is led in scoring by senior midfielder Sean Rickey with 16 points on five goals and a team-best six assists, while senior forward Eric Ramirez has 14 points 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 tied for sixth all-time with Matt Settles (2000-03) in assists (20) and all-time in points (74), while ranking ninth in goals scored (27).
Between the posts: Junior goalkeeper Justin Faas has a 0.86 goals against average this fall. He has a 7-1-3 record overall and four shutouts.
The Saints in 2019:Â The Saints of Maryville are 12-2-2 overall and 9-2-2 in the GLVC after going 1-0-1 in last week’s road swing. They tied Bellarmine University on the road, 1-1, in double-overtime before defeating the University of Indianapolis, 1-0. The Saints are 2-0-2 in their last four games
USI versus Maryville: USI leads the all-time series with Maryville, 9-2-1, after a 2-1 victory last year Strassweg Field on goals by senior midfielder Justin Brooks and senior defender Drew Albert. Overall, the Eagles are 8-1-1 against the Saints since 2010.
The Miners in 2019:Â The Miners of Missouri S&T, who visit McKendree University Friday before coming to play the Eagles Sunday, are 5-8-2 overall and 4-7-2 in the GLVC. The Miners have lost their last three matches, two in overtime.
USI versus Miners: The Eagles trail the all-time series with Missouri S&T, 15-11-3, after posting a 2-0 win last fall in Rolla, Missouri, on goals by senior midfielder Sean Rickey. USI also posted a win over the Miners in 2017 that broke a nine-match winless streak.
Santoro begins his 11th year: USI Head Coach Mat Santoro has a 95-79-21 overall record at the helm. Santoro has guided the Eagles to a pair of NCAA II Tournament appearances; the 2018 GLVC regular season crown, and five GLVC Tournament appearances during his tenure.
