EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana dropped its Ohio Valley Conference opener 6-1 to Liberty University Saturday afternoon in Lynchburg, Virginia.
 
The Screaming Eagles struggled early but came alive late, as freshman midfielder Tony Murphy put the team on the board in the 74th minute. Murphy’s goal broke the team’s scoreless streak that started at the 83:37 mark against Indiana University Indianapolis on September 6.
 
The Flames came out of the gate firing, scoring four goals in the first half. Including a first-half hat trick from Liberty senior Zach Lifferth, scoring the first three goals of the match at 6:03, 20:21, and 28:07.
 
Liberty added its fourth goal in the 34th minute, continuing the offensive barrage of the first half. The Eagles finished the first 45 trailing 13-0 in shots and 9-0 in shots on goal. The Liberty forced five first-half corner kicks compared to USI’s one.
 
In the second half, the Eagles improved on both sides of the ball despite Liberty scoring in the 70th minute. USI’s offense fought back late in the game, as Murphy snuck one past the goalkeeper at 73:30 for the teams lone goal. Liberty’s final push came in the 81st minute scoring their sixth goal, giving them a five goal lead that would hold through the end of the match.
 
For the game, the Eagles tallied five shots, three on goal, compared to Liberty’s 27 shots with 16 on goal. Freshman defender Joaquin d’Escoto and freshman forward Edin Cvorovic each recorded a shot on goal, while freshman goalkeeper Jacob English grabbed a season high 10 saves.

 Tournament set for Monday and Tuesday

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Action continues for the University of Evansville men’s golf team when the Purple Aces travel to Zanesville, Ohio for the Virtues Intercollegiate.

Set for Monday and Tuesday, the tournament features 36 holes in the opening day before the final 128 will be played on the final day. A field of 16 teams includes Dayton, Bowling Green, Loyola Chicago, Youngstown State, Wright State, Butler, DePaul, Western Kentucky, Evansville, Ashland, Canisius, Mercyhurst, and Marshall. Notre Dame, Kent State, and Miami will have individual participants.

Last week, the Aces opened the season at the Earl Yestingsmeier Invitational. Jamison Ousley was the top finisher for UE as he came home in a tie for 18^th place. After opening play with a 74, Ousley lowered his scores in the final two rounds to a 68 and 67.

Luke Price was one behind Ousley, tying for 21^st with a 210. His low round was a 1-under 69 in the final 18 holes. Julian Kiessling rounded out the top three for Evansville, finishing with a 215.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville women’s soccer team returns home on Sunday, hosting in-state rival Indiana State in a key MVC match. Kick-off is set for 6 PM.

Last Time Out
Despite scoring the first goal of the night, Evansville suffered their first MVC loss of the season on Thursday night, falling to SIU by a score of 2-1 in Carbondale.

Following a save by Allie Lammers (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) in the sixth minute, Evansville threatened with a pair of corner kicks in the 17^th and 18^thminutes. After a shot by Emmy Brenner (Arlington, Tenn./St. Benedict at Auburndale) was blocked to earn a second corner, Brielle LaBerge (Cumming, Ga./Forsyth Central) delivered a perfect service to Taylor Wehrer (Las Vegas, Nev.), who headed a shot past the SIU keeper for the game’s first goal. The goal was Wehrer’s team-leading fourth of the season.

However, the Salukis were quick respond, netting the equalizer in the 20^th minute.

In the 32^nd minute, the Salukis threatened once again, but Lammers was able to deny a shot on goal with a diving save.

The score went into the half even at 1-1, but SIU quickly took the lead with a goal in the 53^rd minute.

That goal proved to be the winner, as the Aces were unable to find a second goal and the Salukis walked away with a 2-1 win.

Series History 
Sunday marks the 28th all-time meeting between Evansville and Indiana State. The Purple Aces lead the all-time series 12-11-4, but are looking for their first win over the Sycamores since 2021, when they advanced in the MVC Tournament on penalty kicks.

Scouting Indiana State
Indiana State brings a 4-3-5 record into Sunday’s match and have tied each of their first two MVC matches. The last time out for the Sycamores came on Thursday, a 1-1 draw against UIC.

Aces put up a fight in 3-1 defeat

 CARBONDALE, Ill. – Hinsley Everett posted 13 kills to lead the University of Evansville volleyball team in a hard-fought 3-1 loss to Southern Illinois on Saturday evening.

Everett finished the night hitting an efficient .300 while picking up eight digs. Holland Morris and Chloe Cline totaled eight kills apiece. Ainoah Cruz recorded 18 digs while Kora Ruff notched 33 assists and 15 digs. Kelly Franklin and Annabelle Sulish were the top performers for the Salukis with each tallying 12 kills.

Game 1 – SIU 25, UE 12

Things got off to a positive start with Brooke Herdes posting a kill to give UE a 3-0 lead out of the gate. The Salukis countered with four in a row before going up by a score of 10-5. It was all SIU from there as they took the set by a 25-12 to take the early match lead.

Game 2 – UE 25, SIU 18

With the set tied at 6-6 the Purple Aces took control with three in a row as Ryan Scheu picked up a kill and Ainoah Cruz added an ace. Southern Illinois chopped a 14-10 deficit in half, making it a 14-12 game before UE regained control. Chloe Cline’s kill was the start of an 11-6 run to complete the set as the Aces tied the match at 1-1. Scheu added three late kills to her tally.

Game 3 – SIU 25, UE 19

Sabrina Ripple opened the game with a kill as UE scored the first three points before opening a 5-1 lead. SIU slowly chipped away and would tie the game at 8-8 before jumping in front at 10-8. Evansville did its best to remain within striking distance but a late stretch saw the Salukis pull away to win by six.

Game 4 – SIU 27, UE 25

Looking to seal the match, Southern Illinois jumped out to a 5-1 advantage to open the fourth. Evansville refused to give up with Everett picking up a kill and block to help her team tie the game at 7-7. The Salukis countered with three in a row to go up 10-7, however, UE had its own answer. A 5-1 stretch gave the Aces a 12-11 lead. Holland Morris had four kills during the rally.

After SIU tied the game at 14-14, Evansville regained control with Everett adding three more kills to give UE a 19-16 lead. She added another to solidify a 22-20 edge but one final push from the Salukis saw them outlast the Aces to take the set by a 27-25 final to seal the win. UE returns home next weekend to face Belmont and Indiana State.