CHARLESTON, Ill. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Soccer finished the 2023 regular season with a 2-1 loss on the road at Eastern Illinois University Sunday afternoon.
Entering Sunday’s contest, the Screaming Eagles (4-7-7, 3-2-4) had already clinched their 2023 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament berth. USI sought to improve and solidify its postseason seeding against Eastern Illinois (4-8-4, 3-4-2) on Sunday, looking to host first-round and quarterfinal-round matchups.
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After a tame start to the match, action in the attacking thirds picked up in the middle of the first half. Each team tallied one shot in the first 15 minutes before Eastern Illinois jumped on the scoreboard in the 19th minute. The Panthers’ Espi Logan scored on a second-chance opportunity off a corner kick to give EIU a 1-0 lead. Nearly two minutes later, USI’s freshman midfielder Pilar Torres (Chula Vista, California) had a potential game-tying shot hit off the crossbar.
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Late in the first half, USI started to grab some momentum in the offensive end. Southern Indiana racked up four shots in a 10-minute span, including two from sophomore midfielder Peyton Murphy (Bargersville, Indiana) and a shot on goal each by junior midfielder Adriana Berruti (Berwyn, Illinois) and senior defender Alexis Schone (Galena, Ohio). A minute before halftime, the attacking momentum paid off when sophomore forward Payton Seymour (Louisville, Kentucky) scored her second goal of the season on an assist from Murphy to even the contest, 1-1.
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Out of the break, USI got back on the attack and received two early second-half shots from freshman midfielder Greta Ohlwein (Chicago, Illinois) that were kept out of the net. Unfortunately, Eastern Illinois went back the other way in the 55th minute to retake the lead, 2-1, on a goal by Zenaya Barnes. USI tried to respond quickly with a pair of shots near the 60th minute but was held off by the Panthers’ defensive unit.
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Coming down the stretch, the Eagles did not go quietly with four shots in the last 10 minutes. Around the 80-minute mark, sophomore forward Shy Iles (Demossville, Kentucky) had a shot saved before another chance by Torres that was off the mark. Minutes later, freshman defender Kamryn Bea (O’Fallon, Missouri) had a shot miss wide. Inside the final minute, Ohlwein gave USI one last opportunity at a tying goal with a shot that ended up being saved.
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Southern Indiana mounted 17 shots in the contest, holding Eastern Illinois to six. USI had seven shots on target compared to the Panthers’ three. Individually, Ohlwein led USI with three shots and two on goal. Berruti placed both of her shots on frame. Murphy and freshman midfielder Grace Bamber (Chesterton, Indiana) had two shots each. In goal, redshirt freshman goalkeeper Anna Markland (Hoover, Alabama) had a single save.
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By the end of the afternoon Sunday, the OVC Championship field was set with Tennessee Tech University claiming the 1-seed after capturing a second consecutive regular-season championship. Morehead State University earned the No. 2 seed, joining Tennessee Tech with a double-bye into the semifinals. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville was awarded the No. 3 seed due to tiebreaking procedures after tying Southern Indiana with 13 points in the OVC standings. With SIUE as the 3-seed and USI as the 4-seed, the two programs earned a bye and will host a first-round and quarterfinal-round matchup on their respective sides of the bracket. The rest of the field wound up with the University of Tennessee at Martin as the 5-seed, Eastern Illinois as the No. 6, Southeast Missouri State University as the 7-seed, and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock as the No. 8.
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For the Screaming Eagles, USI will host and await the winner on Sunday, October 29, of the first-round 5/8 matchup between UT Martin and Little Rock on Friday, October 27. Both days are slated for 1 p.m. kickoffs from Strassweg Field. The semifinals and championship are scheduled for November 2 and 5, respectively, at Tennessee Tech.
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All games of the 2023 Ohio Valley Conference Championship Tournament can be seen with a subscription to ESPN+. Additional coverage for USI can be found on usiscreamingeagles.com with full tournament coverage on the OVC website at ovcsports.com.
