The University of Southern Indiana men’s soccer team comes home to the friendly surroundings of Strassweg Field and begins a four-match homestand Friday when they host Maryville University. The Great Lakes Valley Conference first-place Screaming Eagles kickoff Friday versus Maryville at 7:30 p.m. to battle for first in the league and reaches the half-way point of the homestand Sunday at 2 p.m. when they host the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Coverage for USI in GLVC action can be found at GoUSIEagles.com.
During Sunday’s women’s and men’s soccer doubleheader with UMSL, the USI soccer teams will be selling “Hancock Strong” t-shirts to honor USI senior forward Ryley Hancock’s brother, Camden, who lost a battle with cancer last week. Proceeds to help the Hancock family with medical costs.
Week 7 Eagle Notes:Â
USI hold onto first in GLVC:Â The Screaming Eagles (8-2-1, 6-1-1 GLVC) enter this week’s action with a share of first in the GLVC despite splitting conference matches on the road last week. USI defeated Quincy University, 2-0, Friday in Quincy, Illinois, before losing a hard-fought battle at the University of Indianapolis, 1-0, in overtime.
Close at the top:Â USI and Maryville share the top spot in the GLVC with a slim one-game lead over UIndy and the University of Illinois Springfield.
Rickey leading the offense: Junior midfielder Sean Rickey leads the USI offense with 23 points on a team-high nine goals and five assists. Junior forward Eric Ramirez is second with 10 points on four goals and two assist.
Between the posts: Sophomore goalkeeper Justin Faas leads the Eagles between the posts with an 8-2-1 overall record and four shutouts. He also has a 0.80 goals against average in 1011 minutes.
Santoro in his 10th year: USI Head Coach Mat Santoro has an 83-72-18 overall record at the helm. Santoro has guided the Eagles to four GLVC Tournament appearances and the NCAA II Tournament in 2016.
USI versus Maryville:Â USI leads all-time series, 8-2-1, dating back to 2009 when the Saints joined the Eagles in the GLVC. USI, which is 3-1-1 versus the Saints in the last five, split matches with Maryville last year, falling during the regular season, 2-0, and winning, 2-1, in double overtime during the GLVC Tournament.
The Saints in 2018:Â The Saints are 7-2-2 overall, winning their last five matches, and 6-1-1 in the GLVC. Maryville defeated UIndy, 3-2, and UMSL, 2-0, Monday in a match that had to finish on Monday due to weather.
USI versus UMSL:Â UMSL leads the all-time series with USI, 22-6-2, dating back to the beginning of the Eagles’ program in 1979. The Tritons also have the lead in the last five matches, going 3-1-1 versus the Eagles, including last year’s match that ended in a 2-0 UMSL victory in St. Louis.
The Tritons in 2018:Â The Tritons, which hosts Bellarmine University on Friday before visiting the Eagles, is 5-5-0 overall and 4-3-0 in the GLVC. UMSL split last weekend, defeating Missouri University of Science &Technology, 3-2, in overtime, and losing to Maryville on Monday, 2-0.
