• OVC Men’s Soccer Report – October 3 (PDF)
This Week’s Schedule
Thursday, October 5
*Eastern Illinois at UIW, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Liberty at Chicago State, 7:00 p.m.
*Southern Indiana at HCU, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Lindenwood at SIUE, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Sunday, October 8
*Southern Indiana at UIW, 11:00 a.m. (ESPN+)
*SIUE at Liberty, 12:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Lindenwood at Chicago State, 3:00 p.m.
*Eastern Illinois at HCU, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
OVC Players of the Week
OFFENSIVE
Leo Conneh, F • 5-7, 150, Fr. • Anoka, Minn. • Liberty
Conneh scored two goals and had two assists against Chicago State last Thursday. The freshman scored goals in the 38th and 59th minutes to record the first multi-goal match of his young career. He also assisted on goals in the 15th and 73rd minutes of the contest. It marked the first time Liberty had seven or more goals in a game since the 2021 season. Conneh has six assists on the season, a mark that leads the OVC and ranks 11th nationally (0.67/game).
Others Nominated: Iann Topete, Chicago State; D'Alessandro Herrera, HCU; Jens Haukeland, Lindenwood; Andres Delascio, SIUE; Eduardo Perez, UIW.
DEFENSIVE
Wes Gibson, D • 6-1, 180, R-Jr. • Morton, Ill. • SIUE
Gibson earned the award for the second-straight week, leading SIUE to a 2-0-0 start to OVC play as the Cougars improved to 7-0-2 overall on the season. The redshirt junior played 166 minutes and led a backline that did not surrender a goal. Overall the Cougars allowed just seven combined shots against Southern Indiana and Eastern Illinois. He played a team-high 76 minutes and added an assist against USI and played all 90 minutes against the Panthers.
Others Nominated: Dustin Swinehart, Liberty; Noe Bijou, Lindenwood; Dylan Navarijo, UIW.
GOALKEEPER
Sam Gomez, GK • 6-1, 180, Grad. • St. Louis, Mo. • SIUE
Gomez earned his fourth Goalkeeper of the Week honor of the season after keeping SIUE unbeaten on the year as the Cougars started OVC play 2-0-0. The graduate student played all 180 minutes, recording a pair of shutouts while making three saves. It marked the first Conference shutouts for an SIUE goalkeeper since 2019. Gomez is seventh nationally in save percentage (84.4%), eighth in goals against average (.556) and 15th in shutouts (4).
Others Nominated: Enzo Gil, Lindenwood
Notes From Around the League
Highlights From Around the League: SIUE and Liberty each started Conference play with a pair of victories, while UIW is unbeaten after a victory and a tie ... OVC teams will play a 10-game Conference schedule, playing every league team at least once, and three teams twice ... Liberty has the top RPI in the OVC (37) and are followed by SIUE (65) ... SIUE is one of 10 teams nationally without a loss; the team's .889 winning percentage ranks fourth nationally entering the week ... Liberty is now 6-0 at home on the year after its two wins last week ... The Flames have scored three or more goals in six of its seven wins on the year and rank fourth nationally in scoring offense (2.89 goals/game) and eighth in assists/game (2.89) ... Luke Eberle is the first Liberty player with seven or more goals in a season since Kevin Mendoza and Tresor Mbuyu each netted 12 goals in 2018; Eberle ranks 16th nationally in goals/game (0.78) ... SIUE ranks sixth nationally in goal differential (+15) and team goals allowed average (0.556), eighth in save percentage (84.8%) and ninth in shots on goal/game (7.0) ... HCU is 16th in saves/game (5.0) ... Liberty's Leo Conneh is 11th nationally in assists/game (0.67)... SIUE's Sam Gomez is seventh nationally in save percentage (84.4%), eighth in goals against average (.556) and 15th in shutouts (4) ... HCU's Alex Aitken is 12th in saves/game (5.0) ... EIU's Sam Eccles is ninth nationally in shot accuracy (68.4%).
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.