SATURDAY'S SCORES
Southern Indiana 2, @Eastern Illinois 2
@SIUE 3, Western Illinois 0
HCU 0, @UIW 0
EASTERN ILLINOIS 2, SOUTHERN INDIANA 2
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Southern Indiana and Eastern Illinois played to a 2-2 draw on Saturday. The Screaming Eagles fall to 2-12-1 overall and 1-5-1 in the OVC, while the Panthers go to 2-10-1, 1-6-0 OVC.
The tie keeps USI seventh in the OVC standings, one point behind Western Illinois University in the league playoff picture. The top six teams advance to the OVC Championship at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, November 10-16, in Edwardsville, Illinois.
Following an EIU goal at 16:34, the Eagles tied the match, 1-1, on a goal by freshman forward David Davila at 19:42. Davila was assisted on his third goal of the year by a throw-in assist from freshman midfielder Ahiro Nakamae. The goal snapped USI's 569-minute scoring drought over the last six matches.
The score would remain tied, 1-1, through the end of the opening half. EIU had the advantage in shots, 8-2, but USI was tied with the Panther in the score and corners (2-2).
The second half saw the Eagles take the lead for the first time when sophomore forward Jackson Mitchell scored from the right side for the 2-1 lead. Mitchell posted his third goal of the season by gathering up a deflected ball and outmaneuvering four Panthers for the shot.
EIU would bounce back three minutes later to tie the match and give the match an eventual final of 2-2.
USI had a chance to jump out in front a second time in the second final when Mitchell was fouled in the box with 25:45 to play. USI senior defender Garland Hall was robbed on the penalty kick on a diving play by the EIU goalkeeper Chad Smith.
Overall for the match, EIU won the battle of shots, 22-8, while USI had the advantage in corner kicks, 5-4.
SIUE 3, WESTERN ILLINOIS 0
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - On Senior Day at Korte Stadium, five different SIUE seniors figured into the scoring as men's soccer capped its regular season at home with a 3-0 win over Western Illinois Saturday.
The Cougars improved to 8-4-3 overall and 6-1-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference maintaining a hold on the top spot in the league. Western Illinois dropped to 7-9-1 overall and 2-6-0 in the OVC.
It was Nic Muench to open the scoring in the ninth minute, when he and Yasha Schaerer hooked up on a give-and-go. Muench scored from six yards out to the far post.
Jacob Bilyeu, the active career leader in games played with 75, made it 2-0 in the 20th minute after a long pass ahead by Muench, Stephan Moreira sent a cross through the box. It came through to the back post where Bilyeu banged it home for the two-goal lead.
Jacobo Sanfeliu headed home a corner kick from Schaerer just three minutes later for the 3-0 lead.
SIUE's defense stifled any attempts by the Leathernecks. WIU had just six shots total and just a single shot on goal, which didn't come until the 88th minute. Tyler Philpott had a short-range crack at the goal, but it was stopped by SIUE goalkeeper Rob Gjelaj who picked up his league-leading eighth shutout of the season.
SIUE meanwhile had 16 total shots and seven on goal, coming from seven different players.
HCU 0, UIW 0
SAN ANTONIO - Houston Christian University battled to a scoreless draw with University of the Incarnate Word on Saturday night at Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium. The tie drops the Huskies into second place in the Ohio Valley Conference standings with two matches to go in the regular season after the two rivals forged strong defensive postures from the kick-off.
The game was physical from the start, with neither team willing to give ground. Only 12 shots were taken in the entire match, two on goal by both sides. There were 21 fouls called on the evening as well as eight yellow cards distributed evenly between the longtime I-10 rivals.
HCU got one final opportunity in the match late, as Jireh Oyebamiji's shot on goal with 80 seconds remaining was snagged by UIW keeper Alejandro DeLaTorre. It was just the second shot on goal in the second half, as Peleg Armendariz attempt in the 53rd minute was corralled by HCU's Alex Aitken.
The Huskies didn't score in a match for just the fourth time this season and for the first time since their only conference loss, a 1-0 home defeat to Liberty on October 6. The clean sheet was the sixth of the season for HCU and keeper Alex Aitken, and the fifth in eight conference outings for both. The nil-nil draw was the 10th shutout of Aitken's career as he joins Christopher Dodd and Benny Agosto as the only three keepers in school history with double-figure blankings.
UIW falls to 4-5-5 on the season and remain in fifth place in the OVC standings at 2-2-4. The draw was the fourth straight for the Cardinals, with three of those being scoreless.
HCU is now 7-5-4 overall on the season and 5-1-2 in league play. The Huskies fall two points behind SIUE in the race for the top spot in the league, as the Cougars defeated Western Illinois 3-0 on Saturday afternoon. HCU remains two points ahead of third place Liberty, which lost 1-0 to Lindenwood on Friday evening in St. Charles, Missouri. Eastern Illinois and Southern Indiana played to a 2-2 tie in Charleston, Illnois on Saturday.