The University of Southern Indiana men’s soccer team is projected to place third in the Great Lakes Valley Conference in 2017 in a vote by the league’s 15 head coaches. USI, the all-time leader with 10 GLVC titles, is coming off a tie for third in the league tournament and a tie for second in the conference’s regular season in 2016 after posting a 13-4-4 overall mark, 10-2-3 GLVC.

The predicted third place finish and 153 points is the highest by the Screaming Eagles since a preseason fourth in 2003.

The Rockhurst University men’s soccer team was tabbed by the league coaches to win the 2017 Championship for a second-straight year.  The Hawks received 14 first-place votes and 196 points in the preseason poll. The University of Indianapolis garnered second with 169 point, while Missouri University of Science & Technology picked up the final first place vote and was fourth with 150 points. Drury University rounded out the top five with 143 points.

The 2017 USI squad is comprised of 33 players – 24 returning players and redshirts and nine newcomers. The Eagles have nine seniors on the team this season, compared to one a year ago.

The top returning scorer for USI is sophomore forward Eric Ramirez, who set a USI freshman scoring record and was named the GLVC Freshman of the Year with 21 points on 10 goals and one assist in 15 matches. Ramirez, who missed six matches due to injury last year, also tied for first with three game-winning goals.

Tying for second on the team in scoring was senior midfielder Kyle Richardville and sophomore midfielder Sean Rickey with 19 points each. Richardville, who tied Ramirez with three game-winning goals, posted his 19 points on seven goals and five assists, while Rickey made his collegiate debut with 19 points on six goals and a team-high seven assists.

On the defensive side of the field, the Eagles bring back All-GLVC and All-Midwest Region goalkeeper senior Adam Zehme. Zehme posted career-highs in wins (13), saves (74) and shutouts (7) last fall and had a .763 save percentage and 1.04 goals against average.

The 15 GLVC men’s soccer teams will compete in a 14-game round-robin schedule during the regular season with the top eight teams earning a berth to the GLVC Championship Tournament. The top four seeds will host quarterfinal matches on campus on October 29 with the four remaining teams heading to Carroll Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana for the semifinals and final on November 3 and 5.

USI opens the 2017 regular season campaign at home when the Eagles host Kentucky Wesleyan College August 31 for a 7 p.m. showdown of Midwest Region teams.

Aces to play on Friday and Saturday

A new season is here as the Purple Aces open up the 2017 campaign with a trip to Macomb, Ill. for the Leatherneck Invitational.  Evansville will take on Chicago State, Manhattan and Western Illinois to begin the season.

The season opens against the Cougars of CSU on Friday at 3 p.m. before two matches are slated for Saturday.  UE faces Manhattan at 10 a.m. before wrapping up against the host Leathernecks at 7 p.m.

“It is definitely exciting to work with this mix of young and veteran players. They have been all-in since day one, and I can see the hunger for program’s betterment in their deliberate/effective repetitions throughout pre-season camp,” Aces head coach Manolo Concepcion said.  “We see these next 12 matches as an opportunity to use our depth in our favor, by moving pieces around and giving us a chance to find the right combination of people that would provide us with the most added value to conference play.”

After playing the opening two tournaments on the road, UE will return home on Sept. 8 to officially open up Lois D. Patton Court at Meeks Family Fieldhouse.  The Aces kick off their remodeled facility against Indiana University before taking on UAB and UT Martin a day later.

Evansville returns all six starters from last season and 10 letterwinners overall.  Six newcomers also join the mix.

Junior Mildrelis Rodriguez has established herself as one of the top players in the Missouri Valley Conference.  She led the way for UE in kills, attempts and total digs.  She ranked in the top 20 in the league in three categories last year including kills (18th-2.73 per set), digs (17th-2.88 per set) and points (20th-2.95 per set).

Jelena Merseli is coming off of a solid campaign in 2016.  As a junior last season, Merseli ranked 6th in the Valley with an average of 6.60 assists per frame.

Establishing herself at the libero position in 2016 was Olivia Goldstein.  She paced Evansville with 3.15 digs per set, finishing in 15th in the conference.

Another solid offensive weapon for the Aces has been Rocio Fortuny.  The junior registered 232 kills last year, second on the squad.  Her average checked in at 2.25 per game.    Fortuny posted a career mark of 19 last season against Bradley.

Chicago State posted a 3-26 record in 2016 but look to rebound in 2017 as they welcome eight newcomers and five JUCO transfers.  The Cougars lost their top two offensive weapons from last season – Juma Armando and Dzeni Hadzisehovic – but Paige Eyring looks to take that spot as she notched 1.49 kills per set last year.

Manhattan went 12-20 last year, but have a recent history of success.  From 2013-2015, the Jaspers won 20 games each season.  They will also be undergoing a transition this season after losing their top two offensive players from last year while also welcoming a new coach – Lora Sarich.  Olyvia Chaltas looks to up her kill tally of 242 from 2016, which translated to an average of 2.28 per frame.

Hosting this weekend’s tournament is Western Illinois.  The Leathernecks finished the 2016 campaign with a 4-28 mark while going 1-15 in Summit League play.  They return 12 players from last year, including five starters.  Leading the way is Shalyn Greenhaw, who posted 291 kills last year, 2.97 per set.

“We feel that our ball control has improved, and that it will have a long term impact in our offensive phase,” Concepcion added.  “That, combined with the strong leadership that we have in the locker room, will help us achieve the individual and team benchmarks that we have in place.”