USI Women’s Soccer picked 5th in OVC

Duggan named to OVC Preseason Players to Watch List

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Soccer is projected to place fifth in the Ohio Valley Conference in a vote submitted by the league’s head coaches and communication directors.

The 10-team OVC will feature a schedule with each team playing each other once for a nine-match conference schedule. The event starts on campus sites with the first round and quarterfinal matches on October 31 and November 3, with the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds hosting matches. The event switches to the site of the No. 1 seed the following weekend with semifinal and Championship matches on November 7 and 10.

Tennessee Tech University topped the OVC preseason poll with 153 points and 12 first-place votes. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville was picked second with 141 points and six first-place votes.

Morehead State University picked up 122 points with two first-place votes for a predicted third-place finish. The University of Arkansas at Little Rock earned 98 points for fourth place. Southern Indiana (91) and the University of Tennessee at Martin (90) were fifth and sixth, respectively. Southeast Missouri State University (86), Eastern Illinois University (61), Lindenwood University (38), and Western Illinois University (22) round out the poll.

As part of the OVC’s preseason announcement, senior midfielder Maggie Duggan (Defiance, Missouri) represented USI on the 2024 OVC Women’s Soccer Preseason Players to Watch List. Duggan, a team captain, returns to the field this season following a season-ending injury in 2023 after starting the first four matches last season. A key component to USI’s midfield, Duggan scored a goal last August against the University of North Alabama in a 1-1. It was Duggan’s first career goal. In 2022, Duggan was vital to USI’s defensive success, helping the Screaming Eagles earn seven shutouts and a 0.82 GAA.

USI plays one final preseason tune-up match at home against Middle Tennessee State University on Saturday at 2 p.m. before opening the 2024 regular season on the road with a first-ever visit to Arkansas State University on August 18. The Screaming Eagles will host their home opener at Strassweg Field on August 22 against Robert Morris University. The first OVC contest of 2024 is September 22 when Southern Indiana travels to Southeast Missouri.

2024 OVC Soccer Predicted Order of Finish
(as voted on by the league’s head coaches and communication directors)
1. Tennessee Tech (12) 153
2. SIUE (6) – 141
3. Morehead State (2) – 122
4. Little Rock – 96
5. Southern Indiana – 91
6. UT Martin – 90
7. Southeast Missouri – 86
8. Eastern Illinois – 61
9. Lindenwood – 38
10. Western Illinois – 22

2024 OVC Soccer Preseason Players to Watch
Avery Richardson, Eastern Illinois
Eyglo Thorsteinsdottir, Lindenwood
Kaitlin Graeber, Little Rock
Anna Lohrer, Morehead State
Sophia Elfrink, Southeast Missouri
Matea Diekema, SIUE
Maggie Duggan, Southern Indiana
Izzy Patterson, UT Martin
Katie Toney, Tennessee Tech
Kayla Turner, Western Illinois

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Despite the power being out at Crushers Stadium, the Otters bats had electricity Wednesday night in a series opening 7-1 win over the Lake Erie Crushers.

The Otters (31-41) hurried to a 5-0 advantage over the Crushers (40-32) in the second inning.

Following an error, the Otters struck for the first run of the game on an RBI-single from Mason White. Two batters later, the Otters stitched together three straight RBI-base hits from Giovanni DiGiacomo, Delvin Zinn and Gary Mattis. After the damage was done, it was 5-0 Otters.

As the game progressed, the pitchers locked in. Lake Erie wasn’t able to find the scoreboard until the 7th, when a pair of doubles brought in a single run.

Evansville’s bats answered in the eighth, with back-to-back RBI-singles from Amani Larry and DiGiacomo – finalizing the scoring at 7-1.

The Otters out-hit the Crushers 10-6, with DiGiacomo leading the way with three. Mattis and White each also had multi-hit games. Larry’s RBI-single in the eighth was his first hit and RBI of his professional career.

Parker Brahms (4-6) was great on the bump, allowing just one run on four hits, with a walk and five strikeouts across seven full innings. Alex Valdez and Jakob Meyer each pitched a scoreless inning to close out the game.

The Otters and Crushers conclude the series tomorrow, first pitch of the scheduled doubleheader is 2:00 p.m., with game two beginning shortly after game one. Game times could change due to power availability. FloBaseball and Otters Digital Network game coverage might not be available due to the ballpark still being without power. Check Otters social medias for updates regarding game time and streams.

Indiana senior Carson Tyler finished seventh in the men’s springboard semifinal, well above the cutline to make Thursday’s final. With a total 438.00, Tyler scored 48.20 points better than his prelim showing and was 27.05 points off the top three. The NCAA Champion in the event will battle for the podium Thursday at 9 a.m. ET.

Tyler’s Hoosier training partner and Tokyo silver medalist Andrew Capobianco finished 15th in the same event. Capobianco handled his high degree of difficulty list until the fourth round, as he couldn’t reach vertical on his 207C. He recovered with scores of 81.90 and 83.60 in the final rounds yet couldn’t make up enough ground to advance.

Results

Men’s 3-meter springboard semifinal

7. Carson Tyler – 438.00
8. Andrew Capobianco – 407.65