THURSDAY'S SCORES
UIW 2, @Western Illinois 0
Lindenwood 2, @Eastern Illinois 0
HCU 0, @Liberty 0
SIUE 2, @Southern Indiana 1
UIW 2, WESTERN ILLINOIS 0
MACOMB, Ill. - UIW scored two goals less than three minutes apart in the second half to top Western Illinois and clinch a spot in the OVC Tournament field.
Cesar Elizalde scored in the 82nd minutes and in the 85th minute it was Timothy Ospina who found the back of the net to cap the scoring.
Alejandro DeLaTorre made four saves for UIW.
LINDENWOOD 2, EASTERN ILLINOIS 0
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Lindenwood men's soccer (9-5-3, 5-2-2 OVC) picked up a huge win heading down the stretch of the season after defeating Eastern Illinois (2-11-2, 1-7-1 OVC) by a final score of 2-0. The Lions' have one game remaining this season before the Ohio Valley Conference tournament.
Keeping up with their trends this season, Lindenwood posted their fifth OVC shutout of the season. All five Lindenwood wins have come in shutout fashion. Lindenwood ranks second in the OVC in shutouts during conference play behind SIUE.
The offense today totaled 15 shots with four coming on net. Eastern Illinois had just eight shots on Thursday but made the defense work posting five on goal. Goal keeper Enzo Gil provided Lindenwood with a boost in net posting four saves while earning his sixth shutout of the season (second in the OVC).
The first half was a defensive stand-off, but Lindenwood had multiple opportunities in the box but were stoned away by the EIU defense. Matteo Boasso and Ethan Blake both had opportunities to strike first but EIU's Chad Smith denied the duo.
Lindenwood had just five shots in the first half while Eastern Illinois was limited to just one by Khoury Sebastian. Noe Bijou and Cameron Caldwell led the defense through the first 45 minutes of action.
The Lions' came roaring out in the second half posting 10 shots scoring two goals. Isaac Johnson scored his first career goal on Thursday during the 73rd minute of play. Johnson got the ball after multiple shots by the Lions coming off a corner kick, but he was able to corral the ball and nail it in the lower left of the net.
Blake scored his team best eighth goal of the season after being foul in the box resulting in a penalty kick. Blake has now scored in four of his last five matches and has scored in six of LU's nine OVC matches. Coming in the 80th minute, Blake secured the Lions win with a PK off the left side of the net. Blake moves to 3-3 this season on penalty kicks.
Lindenwood's defense provided a challenge for the Panthers' offense. Gil picked up three more saves in the second half while Johnson knocked a ball out of the net before he went on to score the game-winning goal.
LIBERTY 0, HCU 0
LYNCHBURG, Va. - Liberty and Houston Christian each utilized strong defensive efforts to limit quality chances as the Flames and Huskies played to a 0-0 tie Thursday evening at Osborne Stadium in a key match to determine seeding for the upcoming Ohio Valley Men’s Soccer Championship.
In a tightly played contest, each team was able to push each team’s high-octane attacks to the sidelines and break up shot chances in the 18-yard box. Liberty, which leads the OVC in goals scored and shots on goal, had 10 shots and two shots on goal in the game. Meanwhile, HCU, third in the conference in goals, attempted 11 shots and had two shots in the match.
Liberty had its best chance at a goal during the 81st minute. Carlos Trott headed a corner kick to the near post from the left corner by Gabe Findley off the crossbar. HCU’s best chance also came in the closing minutes of the contest as D’Alessandro Herrera came free in the box for a shot one-on-one with Flames goalkeeper Owen Moore. The junior went down to his knees to deflect the ball away and his defense cleared the ball to keep the game scoreless.
Each team has already qualified for the OVC Tournament. Liberty, which entered the night in third place in the OVC standings with 15 points, stays in third place moving to 5-3-1 in the OVC and 7-6-2 overall. HCU, which entered the night in second place in the conference standings with 17 points, stays in second place moving to 5-1-3 in the OVC and 7-5-5 overall.
SIUE 2, SOUTHERN INDIANA 1
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - SIUE men's soccer claimed its second consecutive Ohio Valley Conference regular season championship with a 2-1 come-from-behind win at Southern Indiana Thursday.
The Cougars' win coupled with a tie by Houston Christian at Liberty secured the title, the number one seed and a first-round bye in the OVC Tournament which begins Nov. 10 in Edwardsville.
SIUE scored a pair of second-half goals to overcome a 1-0 halftime deficit. The win was the 49th for Head Coach Cale Wassermann at SIUE, moving him to third all-time in wins at the school.
The Cougars improved to 9-4-3 overall and 7-1-1 in the OVC. Southern Indiana dropped to 2-13-2 overall and 1-6-2 in the league.
Southern Indiana gained the lead in the 29th minute when David Davila scored after a run from the right side. His shot took a deflection past SIUE goalkeeper Rob Gjelaj for the 1-0 lead.
SIUE had a chance to equalize in the final two minutes of the half when Nacho Abeal was fouled in the box and awarded a penalty kick. The subsequent shot from Abeal went wide of the goal and USI led 1-0 at the break.
Jake Karolczak scored the equalizer in the 51st minute after a corner kick. Yasha Schaerer's corner to the near post was headed out by USI. Karolczak came streaking in and fired a low right-footed drive form the top of the 18-yard box into the back of the net. The goal was the first of the season for Karolczak.
It took until the 78th for the Cougars to find the game winner and it was Stephan Moreira who scored his first of the season. Moreira, too, got a ball that was headed out by the Screaming Eagles' defense. He spun from 12 yards away and hit a low shot that glanced off a defender's foot for the game winner.
The Cougars out up 23 total shots, tying their second most shots in a game this season. SIUE put 12 shots on goal, testing USI goalkeeper Andrew Klott, who finished with 10 saves.
Abeal and Carles Zomeno led the way with five shots apiece. Three of Zomeno's were on goal. Pavel Dahsin had a pair of shots, both of which were on goal.
The Screaming Eagles took 11 shots, putting four on goal. SIUE goalkeeper Rob Gjelaj made three saves.