• OVC Men’s Soccer Report – October 17 (PDF)
This Week’s Schedule
Thursday, October 19
*Eastern Illinois at Southern Indiana, 3:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Lindenwood at Liberty, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*UIW at HCU, 7:00 p.m.
*SIUE at Chicago State, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Sunday, October 22
*UIW at Liberty, 12:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Eastern Illinois at Lindenwood, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Southern Indiana at SIUE, 5:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*HCU at Chicago State, 5:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
OVC Players of the Week
OFFENSIVE
Jake Karolczak, MF • 5-10, 175, R-So. • St. Charles, Mo. • SIUE
Karolczak scored two goals and had an assist as SIUE won a pair of matches remain unbeaten on the season. He scored the first two goals in the team's 3-0 win over UIW on Thursday, netting scores in the 53rd and 70th minutes. In Sunday's win over HCU he assisted on the first goal of the game, just two minutes into the contest.
Others Nominated: Iann Topete, Chicago State; Ethan Blake, Lindenwood; Nick Faddis, Southern Indiana.
DEFENSIVE
Will Harris, D • 6-4, 180, Sr. • Coventry, England • SIUE
Harris anchored a defense that allowed only one goal last week as SIUE won a pair of matches to remain undefeated on the season. He played all 180 minutes as the Cougars topped UIW (3-0) and HCU (3-1). Harris also scored the game-winning goal on Saturday against HCU; it came on a corner kick in the 40th minute.
Others Nominated: Calwayne Allen, Chicago State; Grayson Gardner, Liberty; Luke Neeley, Lindenwood.
GOALKEEPER
Sam Gomez, GK • 6-1, 180, Grad. • St. Louis, Mo. • SIUE
Gomez helped SIUE to another undefeated week, playing all 180 minutes in victories over UIW and HCU. The graduate student allowed only one goal, while making 11 saves. It marked the sixth time this season, and third week in a row, that Gomez has earned the award.
Others Nominated: Lucas Fontana, Chicago State; Chad Smith, Eastern Illinois; Owen Moore, Liberty; Enzo Gil, Lindenwood.
Notes From Around the League
Inaugural Season of OVC Men's Soccer: This year marks the inaugural season of OVC men's soccer. It was announced as the conference’s 19th-sponsored sport in March 2023. Four OVC institutions currently field men’s soccer teams: Eastern Illinois, Lindenwood, SIUE and Southern Indiana. In addition, Chicago State, Houston Christian (HCU), Incarnate Word (UIW) and Liberty are affiliate members, giving the OVC eight men’s soccer programs for 2023. Western Illinois, who joined the OVC in other sports on July 1, 2023, is competing one final year in the Summit League and will be in the OVC in men's soccer in 2024.
SIUE Ranked Earlier This Season in United Soccer Coaches Poll: After a 3-0 start to the season, SIUE appeared in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll on September 5, coming in at No. 18. It was the first time the Cougars had been ranked since the spring 2021 season. After a draw the next week, the team slipped to "others receiving votes."
Liberty Picked as 2023 OVC Preseason Favorite: Liberty University was picked as the preseason favorite in the inaugural season of Ohio Valley Conference men’s soccer in a vote of coaches and communications directors. The Flames picked up eight of the 16 first-place votes to tally 88 points, which was two points ahead of SIUE (who picked up four first-place votes). Houston Christian (HCU) picked up the other four first-place votes to tally 81 points in being picked third. Lindenwood was picked fourth (62) and followed by UIW (53), Southern Indiana (29), Eastern Illinois (25) and Chicago State (24).
2023 OVC Tournament: The inaugural OVC Men's Soccer Championship will be held on the campus of SIUE in Edwardsville, Illinois. The top six seeds will make the field, with the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds getting byes to the semifinals.
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 third-place team (where the third-placed team cannot be determined, the AQ shall be the semifinal team that had the highest remaining seed going into the tournament).
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 $9.99 a month (or $99.99 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.