• OVC Men's Soccer Report - October 24 (PDF)
This Week’s Schedule
Thursday, October 26
*Southern Indiana at Eastern Illinois, 4:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Chicago State at UIW, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Liberty at HCU, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*SIUE at Lindenwood, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Sunday, October 29
*Eastern Illinois at SIUE, 12:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Liberty at UIW, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Chicago State at HCU, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Lindenwood at Southern Indiana, 5:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
OVC Players of the Week
OFFENSIVE
Stephan Moreira, MF • 5-10, 150, Jr. • Colchester, England • SIUE
Moreira scored two goals and added an assist as SIUE compiled a 2-0 week and clinched the inaugural OVC Regular Season Championship. He curled home the game-winning free kick in the 84th minute of Thursday's 2-1 win at Chicago State. He then assisted on the game-winning goal in Sunday' 4-0 shutout of Southern Indiana. Later in that contest he added a goal. Moreira is the third different SIUE player to earn Offensive Player of the Week honors this season.
Others Nominated: Iann Topete, Chicago State; Ryan Okerayi, HCU; Carlos Trott, Liberty; Matteo Boasso, Lindenwood.
DEFENSIVE
Will Harris, D • 6-4, 180, Sr. • Coventry, England • SIUE
Harris earned his second-straight and third overall Defensive Player of the Week honor of the year after helping SIUE to a 2-0 week as the team clinched the OVC Regular Season Championship. The senior played 171 of 180 minutes for a defense that allowed only one goal. He also contributed on offense, adding an assist in each match during the week.
Others Nominated: Calwayne Allen, Chicago State; Noe Bijou, Lindenwood.
GOALKEEPER
Chad Smith, GK • 6-1, 165, Jr. • Cincinnati, Ohio • Eastern Illinois
Smith posted his second shutout of the season last Thursday, as Eastern Illinois topped Southern Indiana 2-0. In Sunday's 1-1 tie with Lindenwood, he saved a penalty kick with 13 minutes left in the game that kept the game tied. Overall Smith made six saves in 180 minutes of action last week.
Others Nominated: Lucas Fontana, Chicago State; Enzo Gil, Lindenwood; Sam Gomez, SIUE.
Notes From Around the League
Highlights From Around the League: The final week of the regular season is ahead with the inaugural six-team OVC Tournament Bracket set to be announced on Sunday afternoon ... SIUE won both of its matches last week to lock up the inaugural OVC Regular Season Championship; it marks the first Conference regular season crown for the Cougars since 2015 (Missouri Valley) ... SIUE is the first men's program at the school to win an OVC Championship ... SIUE (12-0-3) is one of four unbeaten teams nationally (the others are Michigan State, Saint Francis and West Virginia) while the team's 12 wins are tied with Marshall for the most nationally entering the week ... Liberty finished the home portion of its schedule with a 7-2 record; they outscored opponents 26-12 in those nine matches ... Liberty has scored 34 goals this season, the most by the program since 2010 (35 goals) ... SIUE (sixth, 2.40/game) and Liberty (eighth, 2.27/game) are both in the Top 10 nationally in scoring offense ... SIUE goalkeeper Sam Gomez was recently ranked at No. 54 on TopDrawerSoccer.com's National College Soccer Player Midseason Rankings (he was the third-highest rated goalkeeper on the list); Gomez ranks fourth nationally in save percentage (86.2%) and shutouts (7) and seventh in G.A.A. (.600).
SIUE Wins Regular Season Championship: SIUE improved to 7-0-1 in OVC play to win the inaugural OVC Regular Season Championship, clinching the title with two games to play. It is the first Conference title for the Cougars since 2015 (Missouri Valley).
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.
Seeding: This season the OVC schedule was based around two scheduling pods, with each pod playing the other teams in their pod twice (and teams in the other pod once). One pod included Chicago State, HCU, Liberty and UIW while the other included Eastern Illinois, Lindenwood, SIUE and Southern Indiana. It was determined prior to the season that the top two seeds for the OVC Tournament would come from different pods based on Conference points. Seeds 3-6 will be based on Conference points regardless of scheduling pod.
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).
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).
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.
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.