• Championship Central | Bracket (PDF)
The inaugural Ohio Valley Conference Men's Soccer Championship got underway on Sunday with a pair of quarterfinal matches.
The opening round action features No. 3 seed Liberty taking on No. 6 seed Eastern Illinois and No. 4 seed Lindenwood battling No. 5 seed Chicago State.
The Championship was predetermined before the year to be held on the campus of SIUE. SIUE would go on to claim the regular season championship with a 9-0-1 league mark. The Cougars and No. 2 seed UIW received byes until Wednesday's semifinals.
Fans can watch the entire 2023 OVC Women's Soccer Championship on ESPN+.
#6 Eastern Illinois 0, #3 Liberty (EIU advances 3-1 in PK Shootout)
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#4 Lindenwood 2, #5 Chicago State 0
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#6 EASTERN ILLINOIS 0, #3 LIBERTY 0 (EIU ADVANCES 3-1 IN PKS)
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - The Eastern Illinois men's soccer team has beaten Liberty University, 3-1, in penalty kicks to advance to the Ohio Valley Conference semifinals. This marks the first conference tournament win for the Panthers since 2007.
In an uneventful first half, both teams opted to study the opponent given the importance of the match. The Flames were able to get ten shots during the first 45 minutes but none were deadly enough to hurt the Panthers. EIU ended the initial half with only one shot.
In the second half, both teams came back for an equally matched fight. The Flames kept possession of the ball for the better part of the second half, but were unable to transform that into any good scoring opportunities. As the end of the game approached, Liberty had a total of 11 shots compared to the Panthers 6. At that point, the Panthers and the Flames did not want to risk the spot in the semifinal, therefore, both teams decided to keep good defensive shape until the final whistle, which took the game to overtime.
During overtime, EIU was once again able to show its strong defensive game to keep the match scoreless, as the Flames pursued the back of the net. At the end of overtime, neither team was able to get on the scoreboard, taking the battle to penalties.
Goalkeeper Chad Smith finished the game with nine saves in goal for the Panthers.
First up to take a penalty was none other than the Panthers top scorer, Sam Eccles, to give EIU the 1-0 lead. After keeping EIU in the race, he was followed by Felipe Kerr Lourenco, and Maxwell Allen, who also converted their penalties. On the goalkeeper's side, Chad Smith made an appearance once again, as the junior goalkeeper saved two of the Flames penalties to secure EIU's advance into the tournament semifinals.
#4 LINDENWOOD 2, #5 CHICAGO STATE 0
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Lindenwood men's soccer (7-6-6, 3-3-4 OVC) won their opening round matchup at the Ohio Valley Conference Championships against Chicago State (5-10-4, 3-4-3 OVC) by a final score of 2-0. Lions advance to the semifinals against #1 SIUE.
The Lions offense was out-shot in Sunday's win, but Lindenwood was able to capitalize early in order to secure their seventh victory of the season. Matteo Boasso secured the game winning goal in the fifth minute of action after a precise cross by Mekhi Wright into the box to put LU up 1-0. Ethan Blake would also get credited for an assist.
Enzo Gil made two saves in the first half to keep the Cougars off the board and secure their 1-0 lead heading into halftime. CSU had four shots in the first half landing two of them on goal. Wright also had a shot that was blocked in the first 45 minutes of action.
Chicago State ramped up the pressure in half two with the Cougars taking eight shots in the final 45 minutes. Gil ended his night in goal with six saves, his second most of the season. The defense was led by Noe Bijou and Cameron Caldwell who helped control the tempo of the game.
Blake continued his strong first season with the Lions scoring Lindenwood's second goal of the night with a goal in the right corner of the net during the 79th minute to clinch the win. He leads the team in goals this season with six. He was assisted by Boasso and Josh Francombe.
Boasso's goal was the first goal scored in the inaugural OVC Championships (first game in tournament ended in a 0-0 tie with penalty kicks). The win also marks the first win in postseason history for the Lions during their Division I era.