SUNDAY'S SCORES
@SIUE 4, Eastern Illinois 1
@UIW 2, Liberty 0
Chicago State 2, @HCU 0
@Southern Indiana 4, Lindenwood 2
SIUE 4, EASTERN ILLINOIS 1
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE men's soccer completed an undefeated regular season Sunday with a 4-1 win over Eastern Illinois.
SIUE is now 14-0-3 overall and finished its first-ever Ohio Valley Conference season 9-0-1. The last SIUE undefeated team was the 1972 National Championship team which was 11-0-3 at season's end.
The 14 wins are the most in the country and the most for an SIUE team since the return to Division I play. The Cougars have won seven straight, which is at least tied for the longest winning streak in NCAA Division I.
Pavel Dashin turned in the first SIUE hat trick in nearly 20 years with three goals, including the game-winner. The last SIUE hat trick came in September 2004 by Victor Pacheco.
Andres Dealscio added the fourth goal of the game for the Cougars.
SIUE outshot Eastern Illinois 25-3 for the game. The Cougars recorded 16 shots on goal, their second highest total this season..
UIW 2, LIBERTY 0
SAN ANTONIO - Incarnate Word rode two first-half goals to a 2-0 victory over Liberty on Sunday.
In the final regular season game for both teams, host UIW scored less than two minutes in and then added towards the end of the opening 45 minutes. The Cardinals then held the Flames off the board the rest of the way to clinch the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye for the first-ever OVC Men’s Soccer Tournament next week.
Cardinals’ midfielder Timothy Ospina scored the match’s first goal and assisted on the second.
Liberty outshot and held the edge in corner kicks over UIW in the contest but was unable to score.
CHICAGO STATE 2, HCU 0
HOUSTON - The Chicago State men's soccer team earned a 2-0 win at Houston Christian University in the OVC regular season finale and, with the victory, the Cougars will advance to the Ohio Valley Conference tournament as the No. 5 seed.
In the first half, Iann Topete scored his eighth goal of the season a mere two minutes into the match. The Cougars would go on to maintain this lead at the break after producing several chances yet were unsuccessful in converting.
In the second half, it wasn't until the 52nd minute that Jaiye Sheppard added another to seal the win and secure the No. 5 seed for Chicago State.
SOUTHERN INDIANA 4, LINDENWOOD 2
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana Men's Soccer scored a season-high four goals and defeated Lindenwood University, 4-2, in the 2023 season finale Sunday evening at Strassweg Field. The Screaming Eagles go to 2-12-3 overall and 1-6-3 in the OVC, while the Lions are 6-6-6, 3-3-4 OVC.
USI scored a pair of first half goals and went into the intermission with a 2-1. Junior midfielder Elmer Garcia (Indianapolis, Indiana) scored the first goal of the game at 18:15 off of assists by junior defender Sam Benoist (Foristell, Missouri) and graduate midfielder Nick Faddis (St. Louis, Missouri), who started the play with a corner kick.
After Lindenwood tied the match at 1-1, USI regained the advantage, 2-1, on a tally by freshman midfielder Pablo Juan (St. Louis, Missouri) at 43:06. Junior midfielder Garland Hall (Evansville, Indiana) crossed the ball to senior defender Aevar Ofjord (Iceland), who had his bicycle kick ricochet to Juan for the goal.
The goals were the second of the year for both Garcia and Juan.
Immediately after the kickoff to start the second half, USI pushed the advantage to 3-1 when sophomore defender Diego Rodriguez (Edwardsburg, Michigan) posted his first goal of the year at 49:46 off a pass from senior forward/midfielder Dan Hartman (Seymour, Indiana). The Lions responded at 50:14 by cutting the Eagles' advantage to 3-2.
The Eagles sealed the victory with a season-high fourth goal of the match and a 4-2 lead off the foot of junior forward/midfielder Robert Schoenstein (Evansville, Indiana) at 76:20. Schoenstein was assisted on his second goal of the season by Hartman and senior forward Zach Bartman (St. Louis, Missouri).
USI junior goalkeeper Braden Matthews (Princeton, Indiana) and the Eagles' defense held off the Lions for the final 14 minutes to preserve the victory. Matthews faced 20 shots, making four saves and allowing two goals in the win.