• OVC Men’s Soccer Report – September 24 (PDF)
This Week’s Schedule
Tuesday, September 24
Liberty at #4 Clemson, 6:00 p.m. (ACC Network Extra)
Eastern Illinois at #24 Bowling Green, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Western Illinois at IU Indy, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Wednesday, September 25
Rose-Hulman
at Southern Indiana, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saturday, September 28
*Eastern Illinois at Southern Indiana, 12:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Western Illinois at Liberty, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*UIW at HCU, 7:00 p.m.
*Lindenwood at SIUE, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
OVC Players of the Week
OFFENSIVE
Jimmy Baars, MF • 6-1, Sr. • Kudelstaart, Netherlands • Western Illinois
Baars scored his first two goals of the season as Western Illinois topped rival Northern Illinois 4-0, its first win over the Huskies since 2004. With WIU leading 1-0, Baars had a tap-in in the 70th minute and in the 88th minute added a screamer, bending it in from about 25 yards out to complete the scoring. Overall Baars took just three shots in the day and played all 90 minutes for the Leathernecks.
Others Nominated: Sam Eccles, Eastern Illinois; Ryan Okerayi, HCU; John Gates, Lindenwood; Pavel Dashin, SIUE.
CO-DEFENSIVE
Hans Leza, D • 6-0, 160, So. • Houston, Texas • HCU
Leza played the full 90 minutes as HCU recorded a shutout of rival UTRGV last week, the team's first clean sheet of the season. Leza has now played all 90 minutes in five consecutive matches. He was a key part of the defense that staved off some late set pieces to get the home victory. HCU is now unbeaten in its last three matches.
CO-DEFENSIVE
Joel McIntyre, D • 6-1, So. • Peoria, Ill. • Western Illinois
McIntrye played all 90 minutes as Western Illinois recorded a shutout against in-state foe Northern Illinois last Friday. It marked the second shutout of the season for the Leathernecks who won for the fourth time in five matches. It marked the first time that NIU had been shutout since its opened of the 2024 season. McIntyre made several key tackles and clearances as WIU snapped a nine-game losing streak to NIU.
Others Nominated: Hans Leza, HCU; Mekhi Wright, Lindenwood
GOALKEEPER
Alexis Michaud, GK • 6-2, Fr. • St-Basile-Le-Grand, Quebec • Western Illinois
Michaud stepped up in his first full match of the season, as Western Illinois entered last week with its other two goalkeepers injured. The freshman played the full 90 minutes and made seven saves without allowing a goal as the Leathernecks topped rival Northern Illinois 4-0, snapping a nine-game losing streak in the series with the Huskies. Six of his saves came in the second half of play as Western won for the fourth time in its last five contests.
Others Nominated: Alex Aitken, HCU; Enzo Gil, Lindenwood; Rob Gjelaj, SIUE.
Other Notable Performances
Below are other notable performances from the past week.
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Alex Aitken (GK, Jr.), HCU. Recorded a shutout in 1-0 victory over UTRGV. Made five saves to record the clean sheet and is now just three saves away from third place on the HCU career leaderboard.
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Sam Eccles (F, Grad.), Eastern Illinois. Scored and assisted on a goal as Eastern Illinois played to a 2-2 draw at Wright State.
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John Gates (F, Sr.), Lindenwood. Had a goal and assist in Lindenwood's 2-1 win at St. Thomas on Sunday. Four of his five shots during the week were on goal.
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Ryan Okerayi (F, So.), HCU. Stole ball and crushed his second goal of the season, this time in the 78th minute as HCU won 1-0 at UTRGV.
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Pavel Dashin (F, Sr.), SIUE. Assisted on game-winner and later added his first goal of the season in 2-0 victory over Bradley.
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Rob Gjelaj (GK, Grad.), SIUE. Made seven saves in two matches. Recorded a shutout against Bradley (2-0) and fell 1-0 against Omaha.
Notes From Around the League
Highlights From Around the League: There are four total non-conference games this week (three on Tuesday, one on Wednesday) before Conference play begins on Saturday ... Western Illinois has won four of its last five games including a 4-0 blanking of Northern Illinois last Friday (its first win over NIU since 2004, snapping a nine-game losing streak to the Huskies) ... This marks the first year that WIU has had four non-conference games since 2016 and first time with back-to-back wins on multiple occasions in the same season since 2016 ... WIU is 3-0 at home, the only OVC team to be perfect at home this season ... Lindenwood had won four of its last five overall and its four non-conference games are the most of its Division I era (since 2022) ... HCU got a goal by Ryan Okerayi in the 78th minute to beat rival UTRGV last week; the team is unbeaten in its last three matches and have played just one match in eight decided by more than one goal ... Lindenwood leads the OVC in goals, shots and corners ... Eastern Illinois ranks second nationally in saves (6.2/game) while SIUE is third (6.0/game) ... Liberty ranks 12th nationally in scoring offense (2.6 goals/game) ... SIUE is fifth nationally in shot accuracy (.558) while UIW is seventh (.556) ... SIUE's Rob Gjelaj is 12th nationally in saves/game (5.33).
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).
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.
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+: This year marks the sixth of the OVC’s 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.