CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Soccer senior goalkeeper Maya Etienne (Midland, Michigan) placed her name third all-time for career saves in USI history Thursday night, collecting a season-high 12 saves. Unfortunately, for the Screaming Eagles, Southeast Missouri State University picked up the 1-0 win, scoring the game-winner in the final seconds.
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The first half started with Southeast Missouri getting three shots on goal in the first 15 minutes, and all three were saved by Etienne. The three early saves moved her into sole possession of third all-time for career saves in the USI record books. Etienne tallied five saves total in the first 45 minutes.
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Sophomore Adriana Berruti (Berwyn, Illinois), senior midfielder Jill DiTusa (St. Charles, Illinois), and sophomore defender Maggie Duggan (Defiance, Missouri) were responsible for USI’s three shots in the first half. The Screaming Eagles also earned three corner kicks in the opening half.
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With neither defense budging through the first two-thirds of the match, the physicality of the contest ramped up in the second half. Through 60 minutes, there were a combined 22 fouls between the two schools.
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The 0-0 battle continued, as Etienne continued to stand tall in goal for USI against a persistent attack by Southeast Missouri. The senior from Midland, Michigan made her seventh save of the second half and season-high 12th save in the 70th minute.
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Both squads utilized their roster depth midway into the second half, trying to find fresh legs from their substitutions to spark energy on the offensive end.
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Minutes after Duggan’s second shot of the night, senior forward Taylor Hall (Grayson, Kentucky) took a chance on goal with just under six minutes remaining, but the shot was saved by SEMO’s freshman goalkeeper Sophia Elfrink.
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As the seconds ticked down and the urgency increased, Southeast Missouri found the back of the net on a goal in the final seconds by freshman forward Cayla Koerner, resulting in the 1-0 final. Koerner led the Redhawks with five shots and three on goal in the match.
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Overall, USI placed three of six shots on target with five corner kicks. Southeast Missouri finished with 13 of 19 shots on frame and three corner kicks. There was a total of 29 fouls between the two teams.
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Duggan led the Screaming Eagles with two shots and tied Hall and junior forward Morgan Beyer (Rossford, Ohio) with a shot on goal each.
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Etienne’s 12 saves surpassed her previous season-high of eight saves, which came earlier in October against Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. A dozen saves were also the second-most in her career, three off the career-best 15 stops she made in November 2019 against Grand Valley State University.
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Thursday’s results moved USI to 4-7-4 overall and 0-5-2 in Ohio Valley Conference play. Southeast Missouri improved its record to 7-6-2 overall and 3-2-2 in the OVC.
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Next, the Screaming Eagles will close out the regular season Sunday at 1 p.m. against Eastern Illinois on Senior Day from Strassweg Field. USI Women’s Soccer seniors will be recognized before kickoff. Thanks to The Women’s Hospital Deaconess, admission to Sunday’s home match is free. Sunday’s match will be a must-win scenario for USI to keep its hopes to get into the 2022 OVC Women’s Championship Tournament, sitting two points back of Sunday’s opponent in Eastern Illinois. Only the top eight from the OVC make it to the conference tournament.
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Etienne climbs the USI record books Thursday at SEMOV
UE looks to make more history this weekend
Aces welcome Drake and UNI
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Next up for the University of Evansville volleyball team is a pair of home matches against the top two teams in the Missouri Valley Conference with Drake and UNI coming to Meeks Family Fieldhouse. Friday evening will see the Purple Aces welcome the Bulldogs for a 6PM match with Saturday’s contest against the Panthers slated for a 5PM start time; both matches will be carried on ESPN3.
Just Four Away
– Alondra Vazquez is just 4 kills away from setting the UE career program kills record
– Vazquez is second in program history with 1,703 kills and is approaching Jessica Kiefer’s mark of 1,706…Kiefer played at UE from 1997-2001
– Her current total is 11th in MVC history
Win #1 in Normal
– For the first time in program history, the Aces defeated Illinois State on the road when UE earned a 3-0 sweep over the Redbirds on Oct. 15 inside Redbird Arena
– Evansville lost its first 29 road matches versus ISU before picking up the 3-0 win
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Dominant Numbers
– Alondra Vazquez has been on an absolute roll over the last four matches, averaging 5.75 kills per set over that span
– Her season average of 4.68 per frame continues to pace the MVC while ranking 10th in the nation
– In the home win over Missouri State, Vazquez recorded 31 kills, just one shy of her career-high and the highest total for a MVC player in 2022
Putting up the Numbers
– Kora Ruff is putting up some of the top assist numbers in the nation as she continues to adjust to the college game
– In the last four matches, Ruff has recorded an average of 11.56 assists per set while raising her season average to 9.92/set (5th in the MVC)
– Ruff’s MVC assist average is currently 10.37 per frame
– With a total of 853 helpers, she ranks 5th in the NCAA
– Ruff is averaging 2.21 digs per frame over the entirety of the season, but registered 2.71 in the conference outings while reaching double figures on six occasions and contributing at least eight each time
New Career-High
– Giulia Cardona recorded a career-high 24 kills in the road win at Indiana State, besting her previous mark of 23, which came in two contests against Bradley last season
– For the season, Cardona is third in the MVC with 4.06 kills per set while her total of 989 attacks is 8th-best in the NCAA
– Always one of the top servers in the sport, Cardona has a total of 41 service aces, which is 9th in the country…her average of 0.48 aces per set paces the league
Eagles Fall to #15 Pioneers
DENVER, Colo. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Soccer fell to 15th ranked Denver University on Wednesday night, 6-0. The Screaming Eagles fall to 1-10-2, 1-3-0 Summit League, while the Pioneers improve to 8-2-5, 3-0-2 Summit League.
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Denver came out hot to start the match, scoring in the third minute to take the early 1-0 lead thanks to Ian Smith. The Pioneers would then convert a penalty kick given away by the Eagles, as Sam Bassett stretched the lead to two goals. They wouldn’t stop there as the Pioneers would add two more goals before the half was over. Denver scored at the 25:47 mark, as Smith secured his brace on the night, and at the 38:51 mark thanks to Trevor Wright, allowing the Pioneers to go into halftime with a 4-0 lead.
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Denver didn’t stop there, adding two goals in the second within two minutes to reach the final score of 6-0. Jason Belloli scored the first of the two while Wright became the second Pioneer of the night to earn a brace.
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Denver outshot USI 29-4 on the match and had a 15-1 advantage in shots on goal. Three different Eagles recorded a shot. Those three included Nick Faddis (St. Louis, Missouri), Will Kirchhofer (Fishers, Indiana), Ryan Nevins (St. Peters, Missouri), and Elmer Garcia (Indianapolis, Indiana). Faddis also finished the match with the lone shot on goal. Junior goalkeeper Alec Meissner (St. Charles, Missouri) finished the match with eight saves after facing 29 shots.
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UP NEXT FOR USI
The Eagles conclude their short road trip with a matchup with Lindenwood University on Sunday, October 23, in St. Charles, Missouri with kickoff set for 2pm. The Eagles and Lions met earlier this season in a non-conference matchup at Strassweg Field, where Lindenwood came out victorious, 2-1.
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The Lions come into the match with USI with a 2-8-1, 1-3-0 Summit League, record. Lindenwood is led this year by Anis Smajlovic who has three goals and three assists while Meldin Sabotic has started every match this season and has allowed 25 goals while making 43 and facing 161 shots.
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The match between the Lions and Eagles can be seen on ESPN+.
Eagles start 2022-23 with first Division I win
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The Screaming Eagles were off to a quick start with sophomore Abby Myers (Evansville, Indiana) and sophomore Madison Windham (Clarksville, Tennessee) posting a 6-0 at number three doubles before junior Lauren Rowe (Terre Haute, Indiana) and junior Rachel McCorkle (Tulsa, Oklahoma) clinched the doubles point with a 6-1 win at number one.
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USI clinched the victory when Myers posted a straight-set win (6-1, 6-1) at number four singles. The Eagles rolled through all six singles matches, winning all but one in straight-sets.
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The Eagles will resume action in the spring championship portion of the 2022-23 schedule.
USI posts a shutout for 1st Division I win
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Tennis completed the fall portion of 2022-23 with its first NCAA Division I victory with a 7-0 shutout of Indiana University Southeast Wednesday afternoon at the USI Tennis Courts.
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The Screaming Eagles started the shutout by sweeping through the doubles play. Senior Yahor Bahdanovich  (Belarus) and sophomore Guy Finkelstein (Israel) opened with a 6-1 win at number three, while sophomore Quinten Gillespie (Whiteland, Indiana) and junior Ruben Emmerson-Hiini (New Zealand) captured the doubles point for USI by prevailing at number two doubles, 6-2.
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In singles play, the Eagles rolled through singles play with Gillespie posting a straight-set victory at number four (6-0, 6-1). Junior Dylan Brown (Evansville, Indiana) recorded a perfect shutout at number six with a pair of 6-0 wins.
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The Eagles will resume action in the spring championship portion of the 2022-23 schedule.
USI Center for Communal Studies Lecture happening in person, virtual October 20
The University of Southern Indiana Center for Communal Studies will host a lecture, “Seeing Like a Commons,†presented by Dr. Joshua Lockyer, Professor of Anthropology at Arkansas Tech University, at 3 p.m. Thursday, October 20 in Kleymeyer Hall in the Liberal Arts Center.
In “Seeing Like a Commons,†Lockyer will demonstrate how a growing group of people have, over the last 80 years, deliberately built Celo Community, a communal settlement on 1,200 acres of commonly owned land in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. Through the story of the oldest existing non-sectarian intentional community in the United States, Lockyer shows how community members have cultivated the cultural practices and worldviews to become better stewards and citizens of both local landscapes and global commons. Using Elinor Ostrom’s “commons design principles†as a heuristic framework, and acknowledging the hard work and long-term commitment required, he suggests Celo may offer a rough framework for other groups who wish to be good commons stewards.
“Dr. Joshua Lockyer’s research on the Cello Community in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina offers concrete solutions and hope for improving human relationships with nature and peaceful coexistence,†says Dr. Silvia Rode, Director of the Center for Communal Studies at USI.
Three USI departments partnering with pregnancy criminalization expert to talk reproductive rights
The University of Southern Indiana Gender Studies Department, Center for Social Justice Education and the College of Liberal Arts are hosting the second of a two-part virtual series, “Your Reproductive Rights After Dobbs,†at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, October 19 via Zoom. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session. This event is free and open to the public at no charge.Â
Dr. Grace Howard, Assistant Professor of Justice Studies at San José State University, is an expert on the criminalization of pregnancy. Her talk, titled “The Pregnancy Police: Conceiving Crime, Arresting Personhood,†will discuss the legal ramifications of policing pregnancy. Â
According to Howard, a wave of state legislation restricting the right to abortion has drawn attention to the contingency of rights of pregnant people. However, the regulation and criminalization of pregnant bodies in the United States began many years before. Drawing from original research in criminal cases, as well as from notable family court hearings, lawsuits and news reports, Howard explores some of the ways in which pregnant people have become subject to surveillance, regulation and control.Â
For more information, contact Denise Lynn, Professor of History and Director of Gender Studies, at 812-465-1095 or dmlynn1@usi.edu.Â
