LOUISVILLE, Ky. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Soccer fell to Bellarmine University on Tuesday night, 2-0. Offensively it was all Knights as they improve to 6-3-1 on the year while the Screaming Eagles fall to 1-8-2.
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The USI defense played incredible in the first half, although allowing Bellarmine to get off 13 shots, they went into halftime scoreless. Alec Meissner (St. Charles, Missouri) played an incredible first half saving six of the 13 shots faced and was the main reason the Eagles kept the Knights out of the net. Offensively USI struggled, not recording a shot in the first half.
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To open the second half, it looked like the Eagles were on fire. The defense continued to play great, and the offense was starting to get some momentum going. Unfortunately, the last 30 minutes curse struck again. Bellarmine was able to take the lead off a corner at the 66:50 mark that went in off the foot of Camden Dunne after a couple deflections. While the Eagles defense made their case to the official and the line judge for an offside call, the goal stood. The Knights were able to get some momentum going and were able to double their lead in the 74th minute off a goal from Jackson Kirn.
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Bellarmine continued to dominate offensively the entire game, outshooting USI 25-10 and having a 12-2 advantage in shots on goal. Robert Schoenstein (Mt. Vernon, Indiana) led the Eagles in shots with three while Zach Barton (St. Louis, Missouri) and Nick Faddis (St. Louis, Missouri) had the two USI shots on goal. Meissner finished the match with 10 saves and allowed the two goals after facing 25 shots, the most shots allowed by the Eagles since September of 2021 when they allowed 24 against the University of Indianapolis.
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UP NEXT FOR USI
The Eagles return home after their final non-conference match of the season to host Summit League foe in the University of Nebraska Omaha on Saturday, October 8, with kickoff from Strassweg Field at 7pm. If you can’t join us in person, you can watch all the action on ESPN+. After hosting the Mavericks, USI will head on the road for back-to-back matches, traveling to Denver, Colorado to take on Summit League Preseason favorite the University of Denver on October 19, then travel to St. Charles, Missouri to take on Lindenwood University on October 23. The Lions beat the Eagles earlier this season in a non-conference matchup, 2-1.
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Omaha comes into the match with USI with a 4-4-1, 1-1 Summit League, record after fall to Denver on Saturday, 1-0. The Mavericks and Eagles are both tied for third in the conference with three points earned in conference play. Omaha was projected to finish third in the Summit League Preseason Poll after finishing last season 10-4-5, 4-1-1 Summit League.
