• OVC Men’s Soccer Report – October 21 (PDF)
This Week’s Schedule
Friday, October 24
*UIW at HCU, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saturday, October 25
*SIUE at Liberty, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Lindenwood at Southern Indiana, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Western Illinois at Eastern Illinois, 3:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
OVC Players of the Week
OFFENSIVE
Alander Soares, F • 5-10, So. • Caxias do Sul, Brazil • Lindenwood
Soares scored a goal in both Lindenwood victories last week, helping push the Lions into sole possession of first place in the OVC. His goal in the 73rd minute of Thursday's 2-0 win over UIW capped the victory. Three days later he got the scoring started with an eighth minute goal in a 2-1 win over HCU. For the week he had five shots, four of which were on goal. Soares now has four goals on the season, three of which have come in OVC action. He is the third different Lindenwood player to win this award in 2025.
Others Nominated: Adam Boykin, Eastern Illinois; Evan Howard, SIUE; Benjamin Graham, Western Illinois
DEFENSIVE
Wes Gibson, D • 6-1, 180, Grad. • Morton, Ill. • SIUE
Gibson played all 180 minutes in the center back position, anchoring a defense that did not allow a goal in victories over HCU (1-0) and UIW (2-0). With the wins SIUE went from tied for fifth to third in the League standings. On Sunday, SIUE limited UIW to just three shots, none in the second half as the team ran its unbeaten streak to five games (3-0-2). In Conference play SIUE ranks second in goals allowed (0.71/game).
Others Nominated: Cland Iwasaki, Eastern Illinois; Leandro Haesler, Lindenwood.
GOALKEEPER
Noah Scheidweiler, GK • 6-3, 165, Fr. • Gasperich, Luxembourg • SIUE
Scheidweiler made eight saves over two matches, recording a pair of clean sheets as SIUE won twice to improve to 3-2-2 in OVC play and move into third place in the standings. In a 1-0 victory over then co-leader HCU, the freshman made five saves in the victory. He followed that with three shots in Sunday's 2-0 victory over UIW as SIUE ran its unbeaten streak to five matches (3-0-2), with four of those being shutouts. Scheidweiler's four shutouts are the third-most overall in the OVC and tied for first in OVC-only matches.
Others Nominated: Lucas Ortiz, Eastern Illinois; Gavin Roberts, Lindenwood.
Other Notable Performances
Below are other notable performances from the past week.
•
Lucas Ortiz (GK, R-So.), Eastern Illinois. Posted his second shutout of the season in win over USI. Made eight saves on the week as EIU compiled 1-0-1 record.
•
Adam Boykin (F, So.), Eastern Illinois. Scored the game-winning goal against Southern Indiana. For the week played 171 of 180 minutes as Panthers were 1-0-1.
•
Evan Howard (F, Sr.), SIUE. Played all but six minutes in two SIUE victories. Netted the game-winning goal against UIW, marking his team-leading seventh goal of the season. He also added an assist in that win.
•
Leandro Haesler (D, Sr.), Lindenwood. Played all 180 minutes as Lindenwood won a pair of matches to improve to 5-1-1 in OVC play. Anchored a defense that allowed just eight shots and one goal.
•
Cland Iwasaki (D, Jr.), Eastern Illinois. Played 180 minutes as EIU was 1-0-1, including win over USI. Added an assist against Southern Indiana.
•
Gavin Roberts (GK, Sr.), Lindenwood. Recorded a shutout and made seven total saves as Lindenwood won a pair of matches.
•
Benjamin Graham (MF, So.), Western Illinois. With WIU down a man, scored in the 81st to force a 1-1 draw with Liberty.
Notes From Around the League
Highlights From Around the League: Entering last week's action three teams (HCU, Liberty and Lindenwood) were tied atop the OVC standings, but following the weekend's play Lindenwood now has sole possession of first place, four points ahead of Liberty, five points ahead of SIUE and six points ahead of HCU ... Overall Lindenwood has won 12 matches this season, the most of its Division I Era and most overall since 2016 (when they won 13) ... USI saw its five-game unbeaten streak come to an end on Sunday with a loss at Eastern Illinois ... SIUE is now 3-0-2 over its last five matches and has jumped up to third place in the OVC standings ... Nationally, Lindenwood ranks second in save percentage (91.2%) and shutout percentage (66.7%), third in goal differential (+28), fifth in goals against average (0.40) and eighth in assists/game (2.73), Southern Indiana is second in saves per game (6.43) and Liberty is sixth in shots on goal/game (7.53).
Lifferth Sets OVC Record For Points in a Game, Ties Mark for Goals: Liberty senior
Zach Lifferth set a new OVC single match record with seven points (3 goals, 1 assist) in his team's 6-1 win over Southern Indiana on September 27. His three goals tied the OVC record (held by three others) and came on his first three shots of the game, all in the first half.
UIW Knocks Off No. 18 SMU: UIW scored a 2-1 victory over No. 18 ranked SMU on September 8. UIW scored in the 14th minute and led 1-0 until SMU tied the match on a penalty kick in the 79th minute. Eight minutes later Noe Robles scored a goal off an assist from Giovanni Padilla to lift the Cardinals to the victory.
Liberty Sets OVC Single Match Record for Goals: Liberty scored nine goals (eight in the second half) in a season-opening victory over Regent on August 21. It broke the previous OVC record of eight goals set by Lindenwood in 2023 (vs. UHSP).
Third Season of OVC Men's Soccer: This year marks the third 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.
2025 OVC Tournament: The 2025 OVC Men's Soccer Championship will be held on the campus of Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri for the first time. The top six seeds make 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 Postseason Play: Lindenwood and Southern Indiana completed their reclassification to Division I this past summer and are now eligible for NCAA Tournament berths. The two schools finished the transition in a new expediated three-year timeline.
SIUE Picked as 2025 OVC Preseason Favorite: Two-time defending regular season and tournament champion SIUE was predicted the preseason favorite for the 2025 OVC men's soccer season. The Cougars, who claimed both championships during each the 2023 and 2024 seasons, picked up 14 of 16 first-place votes and 98 points in the poll of league head coaches and communications directors. SIUE is 17-1-2 in Conference play in the first two years of men's soccer in the OVC. HCU, who lost to SIUE in double overtime in last year's tournament title game, picked up the other two first-place votes and 69 points in being tabbed second. They were followed by Lindenwood (67), Liberty (64), UIW (55), Western Illinois (39), Eastern Illinois (38) and Southern Indiana (18).
UTRGV to Join OVC as Men's Soccer Affiliate in 2026: The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) will join the OVC as a men's soccer affiliate beginning with the 2026 season. The addition of Vaqueros gives the OVC its third men’s soccer institution in the state of Texas. Located in Edinburg, Texas, the program spent 10 seasons in the WAC before becoming an Independent for the 2025 season.
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. Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for $11.99 a month (or $119.99 per year) as part of the ESPN Select Plan or as part of a bundle with Disney+ and ad-supported Hulu. ESPN+ is an integrated part of the ESPN App (on mobile and connected devices). More information can be found at www.OVCSports.com/ESPN.