• OVC Men’s Soccer Report – September 30 (PDF)
This Week’s Schedule
Thursday, October 2
*Lindenwood at Eastern Illinois, 3:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*SIUE at Western Illinois, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*UIW at Liberty, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*HCU at Southern Indiana, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Sunday, October 5
*UIW at Southern Indiana, 11:00 a.m. (ESPN+)
*Eastern Illinois at SIUE, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Western Illinois at Lindenwood, 3:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*HCU at Liberty, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
OVC Players of the Week
OFFENSIVE
Zach Lifferth, F • 6-0, 175, Sr. • Sarasota Valley, Utah • Liberty
Lifferth set a OVC single match record with seven points and tied the record for goals in a game with a hat trick in Liberty's 6-1 win over Southern Indiana on Saturday. He scored his three goals on his first three shots of the match, connecting in the 7th, 21st and 29th minutes for the Flames. He added an assist on Liberty's fifth goal of the contest, which came midway through the second half. He was the first Liberty player to tally seven points in a game since 2018.
Others Nominated: Casey Welage, Eastern Illinois; D'Alessandro Herrera, HCU; Diego Robles, UIW; Liam Gainey, Western Illinois.
DEFENSIVE
Mikey Lennon, D • 6-3, Sr. • Stockport, England • Lindenwood
Lennon played all 90 minutes and anchored a defense that recorded a shutout in a 2-0 win at SIUE. It marked the program's first-ever win over the Cougars in seven all-time meetings. The Lions defense did not allow a SIUE shot in the second half.
Others Nominated: Suntario Endo, Eastern Illinois; Nico Kross, HCU
GOALKEEPER
Quinn Closson, GK • 5-11, Grad. • Fairfield, Conn. • Lindenwood
Closson recorded his OVC-leading sixth clean sheet of the season, making three saves in Lindenwood's 2-0 victory at SIUE on Saturday night. It marked the first-ever win for the Lions over the Cougars in seven all-time meetings. All three of his saves game in the first half of the victory, as Lindenwood did not allow a shot in the second half. He ranks third nationally in shutouts (6), goals against average (0.26) and save percentage (93.9%). This marks the third time this year he has been named OVC Goalkeeper of the Week.
Others Nominated: Franco Barba, Eastern Illinois; Alex Aitken, HCU; Alejandro De La Torre, UIW; Micah Ramirez, Western Illinois.
Other Notable Performances
Below are other notable performances from the past week.
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D'Alessandro Herrera (MF, Sr.), HCU. Scored from just inside the box on his only shot attempt in a 1-1 draw with UIW. It marked his 14th career goal.
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Liam Gainey (F, Sr.), Western Illinois. Scored his fifth goal of the season, converting in the 11th minute against Eastern Illinois.
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Diego Robles (F, So.), UIW. Robles scored his third goal of the season to open Association play against rival HCU.
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Alejandro De La Torre (GK, Grad.), UIW. Made six saves in 1-1 draw with HCU.
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Alex Aitken (GK, Sr.), HCU. Made six saves, two in the final 20 minutes, in 1-1 draw with UIW.
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Micah Ramirez (GK, Sr.). Tallied six saves in 90 minutes in a 1-1 draw with Eastern Illinois.
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Casey Welage (MF, Sr.), Eastern Illinois. Scored his second goal of the season, finding the back of the net in the 26th minute against Western Illinois.
Notes From Around the League
Highlights From Around the League: Conference play began last week with each team playing one contest; the schedule will primarily Thursday/Sunday games the remainder of the season ... Lindenwood improved to 8-0-1 on the season with a win over SIUE in its League opener; it marked the first-ever win for Lindenwood over rival SIUE ... Entering the week Lindenwood is one of six teams nationally with eight or more victories on the season; the teams 94.4 winning percentage is tied for second nationally ... Liberty also began OVC play 1-0 after topping Southern Indiana 6-1; Flames senior Zach Lifferth had three goals and an assist in the victory which tied the OVC record for points in a match (7) and tied the OVC mark for goals in a game ... Two other matches (EIU/WIU and HCU/UIW) ended in draws ... It marked the fourth-straight season that HCU and UIW played to a draw in San Antonio ... HCU goalkeeper Alex Aitken has 21 career victories, which is tied for the program's all-time record ... Nationally, Lindenwood ranks third in assists/game (3.22), fourth in goal differential (+21) and points/game (8.78)
, fifth in saves/game (89.2%), sixth in scoring offense (2.78 goals/game) and seventh in shutout percentage (66.7%), Liberty ranks sixth in scoring offense (2.78 goals/game), seventh in points/game (8.33) and eighth in assists/game (2.78), while UIW ranks sixth in save percentage (88.7%) and seventh in shot accuracy (52.9%) ... Individually, Lindenwood's Matteo Landais is fifth nationally in assists/game (0.67) while teammate Quinn Closson is third in goals against average (0.26), shutouts (6) and save percentage (93.9%), HCU's Ryan Okerayi is eighth in shot accuracy (64.7%)
, WIU's Micah Ramirez is fifth in goalie minutes played (900:00) while EIU's Franco Barba is second in saves/game (6.14).
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.