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OVC Men’s Soccer Report – September 26 (PDF)
This Week’s Schedule
Thursday, September 28
*Lindenwood at Eastern Illinois, 4:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Chicago State at Liberty, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*HCU at UIW, 6:30 p.m.
*SIUE at Southern Indiana, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Sunday, October 1
*HCU at Liberty, 12:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*UIW at Chicago State, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*SIUE at Eastern Illinois, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Southern Indiana at Lindenwood, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
OVC Players of the Week
OFFENSIVE
Cole Hutson, D • 6-4, 195, Sr. • St. Louis, Mo. • Lindenwood
Hutson recorded a hat trick as Lindenwood overwhelmed UHSP by an 8-0 margin last week. The senior scored in the seventh minute to put the Lions on top for good and later added goals in the 47th and 65th minutes. He is the first OVC player to record three goals in a game. Overall Hutson tallied six shots, four of which were on goal. His four goals on the season is tied for second in the league.
Others Nominated: Danail Sergiev, Chicago State; Alsadiq Hasan, SIUE; Nick Faddis, Southern Indiana; Wilmar Aguilar, UIW.
DEFENSIVE
Wes Gibson, D • 6-1, 180, R-Jr. • Morton, Ill. • SIUE
Gibson helped to anchor the Cougar defense Friday against Webster, playing all but seven minutes and limiting the Gorlocks to just two shots. SIUE won the game 3-1 to remain unbeaten (5-0-2) on the season. SIUE leads the OVC in fewest goals allowed (5) and goals against average (0.71).
Others Nominated: none
GOALKEEPER
Hugo Constant, GK • 5-9, Sr. • France • UIW
Constant helped UIW to a unbeaten week, as the team tallied a 1-1 draw against Trinity before topping Gonzaga 4-2 to close out non-conference play. The senior played all 180 minutes, making five saves while facing 16 shots. His performance helped the Cardinals snap a four-game losing streak.
Others Nominated: Enzo Gil, Lindenwood; Sam Gomez, SIUE.
Notes From Around the League
Highlights From Around the League: Conference play begins this week ... 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 (33) and are followed by SIUE (55) ... SIUE remained undefeated on the year (5-0-2) with a victory over Webster last week; it is the first time they have been unbeaten through seven games since returning to Division I in 2008 ... Lindenwood scored eight goals in a win over University of Health Science and Pharmacy (UHSP), which was a NCAA program era; the team was led by three goals from Cole Hutson ... After starting the season 0-6, Southern Indiana broke through with a win over former GLVC foe Northern Kentucky last week; it was the first win over their former Division II rival since 2003 ... USI broke a five-match (505-minute) scoreless drought when Nick Faddis scored in the first half against NKU ... Nationally, Liberty ranks 13th in scoring offense (2.29/game), 17th in points/game (6.71), 22nd in shots/game (15.29) and 23rd in assists/game (2.14) ... SIUE ranks 13th nationally in save percentage (83.3%), 19th in teams goals against average (.714) and 25th nationally in goal differential (+8), while HCU is fourth nationally in saves/game (5.75) ... EIU's Sam Eccles is 11th nationally in shot accuracy (68.8%) ... HCU's Alex Aitken is third nationally in total saves (46).
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.