• OVC Men’s Soccer Report – September 5 (PDF)
This Week’s Schedule
Monday, September 4
@#9 Akron 1,
Southern Indiana 0
Tuesday, September 5
IUPUI
at Eastern Illinois, 4:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Lindenwood at Western Illinois, 5:00 p.m. (Summit League Network)
Thursday, September 7
Santa Clara
at UIW, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Oral Roberts
at HCU, 7:00 p.m.
Friday, September 8
SIUE at Kansas City, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, September 9
Chicago State at Omaha, 1:00 p.m.
Bellarmine
at Eastern Illinois, 1:00 p.m.
Evansville
at Southern Indiana, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Sunday, September 10
Oral Roberts
at UIW, 11:00 a.m. (ESPN+)
Utah Tech
at Lindenwood, 1:00 p.m.
Santa Clara
at HCU, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
OVC Players of the Week
OFFENSIVE
Mitchell Murphy, F • 5-10, 165, Grad. • Quincy, Ill. • SIUE
Murphy's goal at 49:58 proved to be the game-winner as SIUE knocked off No. 15 ranked Saint Louis 2-0 in front of 8,574 fans at CITYPARK (home of St. Louis City SC). Murphy had two total shots on the game as he picked up his first goal of the season. The victory lifted SIUE to 3-0 and gave the Cougars possession of the Bronze Boot trophy which the program had not had since 1982.
Others Nominated: Eduardo Flores, Chicago State; Lesego Maloma, Eastern Illinois; Cole Hutson, Lindenwood.
CO-DEFENSIVE
Sam Zeeman, D • 6-0, 175, So. • The Hague, Netherlands • HCU
Zeeman played all 180 minutes in a pair of matches in Birmingham, Alabama. The sophomore helped a defense that allowed only three goals, as the team lost to Belmont by one goal and tied with host UAB. In Sunday's match with the Blazers, Zeeman had the equalizer in the 89th minute on a breakaway through ball, giving the Huskies the draw.
CO-DEFENSIVE
Will Harris, D • 6-4, 180, Sr. • Coventry, England • SIUE
Harris was a key part of the SIUE defense that shutout No. 15 ranked Saint Louis on Saturday at a neutral site game in front of 8,574 fans at CITYPARK (home of St. Louis City SC). The senior played all 90 minutes and helped limit the Billikens to just three shots on goal. The win gave SIUE possession of the Bronze Boot traveling trophy for the first time since 1982.
Others Nominated: Calwayne Allen, Chicago State; Bryce Swinehart, Liberty.
GOALKEEPER
Sam Gomez, GK • 6-1, 180, Grad. • St. Louis, Mo • SIUE
Gomez recorded his second career shutout as SIUE topped No. 15 ranked Saint Louis 2-0 at a neutral site game in front of 8,574 fans at CITYPARK (home of St. Louis City SC). Gomez made two saves (both in the second half) as the Cougars won the Bronze Boot traveling trophy for the first time since the 1982 season. Gomez ranks 39th nationally in save percentage (84.6%).
Others Nominated: Lucas Fontana, Chicago State; Chad Smith, Eastern Illinois; Alex Aitken, HCU; Owen Moore, Liberty.
Notes From Around the League
Highlights From Around the League: SIUE is the lone undefeated OVC men's soccer team, sitting at 3-0-0 ... The Cougars topped No. 15 Saint Louis at a neutral site game in front of 8,574 fans at CITYPARK (home of the Saint Louis City SC) to win the Bronze Boot ... It marks the first time since 1982 that the boot will reside in Edwardsville ... Lindenwood picked up its first win under new head coach Kris Bertsch last Wednesday, topping Southwest Baptist 3-0; the Lions had a season-high 21 shots in the win ... Liberty is off to a 3-1 start for the first time since starting the 2021 spring season (when they were 5-0-1) ... Chicago State won back-to-back road games by identical 3-2 scores, besting UAB this week after defeating Milwaukee last week; the Cougars ended the week with a 1-1 tie against Belmont, scoring the game-tying goal in the 82nd minute ... SIUE ranks 16th nationally in goal differential (+5) ... HCU ranks 17th nationally in saves/game (5.5) ... Liberty ranks 11th nationally in shots/game (17.5) ... Chicago State and Liberty each have eight goals, which is 10th nationally ... HCU's Alex Aitken ranks 17th nationally in saves/game (5.5) and first nationally in total saves (22) ... Three OVC players - Liberty's Leo Conneh, HCU's Ricardo Garcia and Chicago State's Donat Juhasz are tied for third in total assists (3).
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.
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.