The University of Southern Indiana men’s soccer team is projected to place fourth in the Great Lakes Valley Conference in 2019 in a vote by the league’s 16 head coaches. USI, the all-time leader with 10 GLVC titles, is coming off a 2018 GLVC regular season championship after posting a 13-4-1 overall record and an 11-1-1 GLVC mark.
The GLVC regular season will feature a 15-match, round-robin schedule based on eight pairs of travel partners. The regular season champion, along with the next seven best teams based on Conference winning percentage, will earn a berth to the eight-team GLVC Men’s Soccer Championship Tournament. The top four seeds will host on campus November 10 with the winners advancing to the Woehrle Athletic Complex in Jeffersonville, Indiana, for the semifinals and finals on Nov. 15 and 17.
Bellarmine collected 210 total points for the top spot in the GLVC Men’s Soccer Preseason Poll and was receiving votes last week in the United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division II Preseason Rankings. USI, who was the top seed in the NCAA II Midwest Regional last fall, also received votes for the USC NCAA II Preseason poll.
The 2019 USI squad is comprised of 30 players – 20 returning players and redshirts and 10 newcomers. The Eagles have nine seniors and 11 fourth-year players on the team this season, compared to one a year ago.
The top returning scorer for USI is senior midfielder Sean Rickey (Columbia, Illinois), the D2SIDA Midwest Region and GLVC Offensive Player of the Year led USI with 28 points on 11 goals and six assists. Rickey also was named second-team All-American by D2SIDA.
Second on the team in scoring was senior forward Eric Ramirez (Vincennes, Indiana), who is a two-time All-Region and All-GLVC honoree. Ramirez posted 18 points on eight goals and two assists.
USI opens the 2019 regular season on the road, traveling to Northern Michigan University September 5 and Northwood University September 8. The first home game of 2019 is September 15 when the Eagles open the GLVC campaign.
2019 GLVC MEN’S SOCCER PRESEASON POLL
Rank School              Points (1st-Place Votes)
1.   Bellarmine        210 (9)
2.   Maryville         195 (2)
3.   Indianapolis       194
 4.   Southern Indiana  189 (5)
5.   Rockhurst         170
6.   Illinois Springfield  157
7.   McKendree       138
8.   Lindenwood       128
9.   Quincy           108
10.   Lewis            106
11.   Missouri-St. Louis    96
12.   Drury              77
13.   Missouri S&T        58
14.   Truman State       48
15.   William Jewell      29
16.   Southwest Baptist    17
