• OVC Men's Soccer Report - November 19 (PDF)
This Week’s Schedule
2024 NCAA Tournament (Campus Sites)
Thursday, November 21
SIUE at Western Michigan, 12:00 p.m. CT (ESPN+)
Sunday, November 24
SIUE/WMU at #1 Ohio State, 4:00 p.m. CT (ESPN+)
Notes From Around the League
SIUE Wins Second-Straight OVC Tournament Crown: SIUE topped UIW (1-0) and HCU (3-2 in double overtime) to win the 2024 OVC Tournament Championship. As the No. 1 seed the Cougars received a bye to the semifinals and then won its two games which were played on its home field.
SIUE Wins Regular Season Championship: SIUE claimed its second-straight OVC regular season championship, finishing the year 8-1-1 to tally 25 points (five points ahead of Lindenwood). In two years of OVC men's soccer, the Cougars are 17-1-2 overall in league play.
SIUE in the NCAA Tournament: SIUE is appearing in its fourth NCAA Division I Tournament since its return to Division I in 2008. The
Cougars were also in the event in 2014, 2016 and 2023. In 2016 the Cougars topped Michigan State and Butler in PK's to advance to the Sweet 16 where they lost to Wake Forest. A year ago the team fell to Memphis 2-1 in the first round. Overall it marks the 25th NCAA Tournament appearance for the program, 17 at the Division I level (including 1969-82 before moving to the College/Division II level). That included winning the 1972 National Championship. Overall SIUE is 20-15-2 as a Division I team in the NCAA Tournament and were 11-5-2 at the Division II/College level.
2024 OVC Tournament: The 2024 OVC Men's Soccer Championship was held on the campus of SIUE in Edwardsville, Illinois for the second-straight season. The top six seeds made the field, with the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds getting byes to the semifinals. The eight OVC men's soccer teams are divided into two scheduling pods, with each team playing the other teams in its pod twice during the season, and teams in the other pod once. The tournament format gives the winner of each pod a first round tournament bye. Seeds 3-6 are based on total points, regardless of scheduling pod.
All Teams Eligible for OVC Tournament: Both reclassifying teams, Lindenwood and Southern Indiana, are eligible to compete and win the OVC Tournament Championship this season. Should a transitioning school win an OVC Tournament Championship, the AQ shall be awarded to the tournament runner-up. Should the tournament runner-up also be a transitioning school, the AQ representative shall be the semifinalist that had the highest remaining seed going into the tournament.
Second Season of OVC Men's Soccer: This year marks the second season of OVC men's soccer, which was announced as the league's 19th sport in March 2023. Five OVC institutions currently field men’s soccer teams: Eastern Illinois, Lindenwood, SIUE, Southern Indiana and Western Illinois. In addition, Houston Christian (HCU), Incarnate Word (UIW) and Liberty are affiliate members, giving the OVC eight men’s soccer programs. This is the first year for WIU in the league (they competed in the Summit League last season).
SIUE Picked as 2024 OVC Preseason Favorite: Defending regular season and tournament champion SIUE was predicted the preseason favorite ahead of the 2024 OVC men's soccer season. The Cougars picked up 11 of 16 first-place votes and 95 points in the poll of league head coaches and communications directors. Liberty picked up three first-place votes and 79 points in being tabbed second, followed by UIW (67 points), Lindenwood (66) and HCU (59 points and the final two first-place votes). The poll was rounded out Eastern Illinois (36 points), newcomer Western Illinois (25) and Southern Indiana (21).
ESPN+: The OVC has a media rights deal with ESPN to air games on ESPN+, the multi-sport, direct-to-consumer video service from The Walt Disney Company Direct-to-Consumer & International segment. This season over 200 men’s and women’s basketball regular season Conference games and non-conference games will be streamed on ESPN+. Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for $10.99 a month (or $109.99 per year) or as part of a bundle with Disney+ and ad-supported Hulu ($15.99/month). ESPN+ is an integrated part of the ESPN App (on mobile and connected devices). More information can be found at www.OVCSports.com/ESPN.