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OVC Men’s Soccer Report – August 27 (PDF)
This Week’s Schedule
Monday, August 26
Detroit Mercy 5,
@Eastern Illinois 1
Liberty 2, @Longwood 2
Thursday, August 29
Southern Indiana at Green Bay, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Lindenwood at Wright State, 4:00 p.m.
Purdue Fort Wayne
at Eastern Illinois, 5:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
North American
at HCU, 7:00 p.m.
SIUE at Ohio State, 7:00 p.m. (BTN+)
Western Illinois at Bradley, 7:00 p.m.
UIW at Gonzaga, 9:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Sunday, September 1
Georgia State
at Liberty, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
SIUE vs. Dayton, 2:00 p.m. (Columbus, Ohio)
Quincy
at Western Illinois, 5:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Southern Indiana at Evansville, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
HCU at Gonzaga, 9:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
OVC Players of the Week
OFFENSIVE
Nic Muench, D • 6-1, 167, Sr. • Heidelberg, Germany • SIUE
Muench, who started the game in the back before moving to the wing midfield spot later in the contest, scored the game equalizing goal in SIUE's 1-1 draw with Michigan State. Muench's goal came in the 60th minute as SIUE ran its regular season unbeaten streak to 18 matches.
Others Nominated: Casey Welage, Eastern Illinois; Michael Huss, Liberty; Ahiro Nakamae, Southern Indiana; Liam Gainey, Western Illinois; Sello Diphoko, UIW.
DEFENSIVE
Joel McIntyre, D • 6-1, So. • Peoria, Ill. • Western Illinois
In two matches last week McIntyre played all 180 minutes and was a key part of the Leathernecks squad that played to a draw at Butler and lost at Grand Canyon. The sophomore captain had a key goal-line clearance to keep the game tied against Butler on Sunday.
Others Nominated: none
GOALKEEPER
Rob Gjelaj, GK • 6-2, 185, Grad. • Romeo, Mich. • SIUE
Gjelaj did not allow a goal in the run of play against Michigan State, conceding only on a penalty kick. The graduate student made five saves in helping SIUE secure an opening-night draw with its Big Ten foe.
Others Nominated: Chad Smith, Eastern Illinois; Micah Ramirez, Western Illinois.
Other Notable Performance
Below are other notable performances from the past week.
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Chad Smith (GK, Sr.), Eastern Illinois. Made three saves in recording a shutout in the team's 3-0 victory over the University of Chicago in its season opener.
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Michael Huss (F, Sr.), Liberty. Huss scored two goals in 42 minutes of action as the Flames topped Mount Olive 5-0 to open the 2024 season.
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Liam Gainey (F, Jr.), Western Illinois. Gainey recorded his third career goal on Sunday at Butler, helping the Leathernecks to a draw.
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Ahiro Nakame (MF, Fr.), Southern Indiana. Scored a goal against Butler in his first collegiate match, scratching in the 12th minute to even the score.
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Micah Ramirez (GK, Jr.), Western Illinois. Made seven saves in two matches as WIU compiled a 0-1-1 record during the week. Made a save on a PK against Butler in Sunday's draw.
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Casey Welage (MF, Jr.), Eastern Illinois. Tallied a goal in the 80th minute on a free kick as the Panthers topped the University of Chicago 3-0 to open the year.
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Sello Diphoko (F, Jr), UIW. In Sunday's 1-1 draw with Gardner-Webb, sent a ball into front of the net which GWU knocked into the net for an own goal, helping the Cardinals tie the match.
Notes From Around the League
Second Season of OVC Men's Soccer: This year marks the second season of OVC men's soccer, which was announced as the league's 19th sport in March 2023. Five OVC institutions currently field men’s soccer teams: Eastern Illinois, Lindenwood, SIUE, Southern Indiana and Western Illinois. In addition, Houston Christian (HCU), Incarnate Word (UIW) and Liberty are affiliate members, giving the OVC eight men’s soccer programs. This is the first year for WIU in the league (they competed in the Summit League last season).
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 semifinalist that had the highest remaining seed going into the tournament.
SIUE Picked as 2024 OVC Preseason Favorite: Defending regular season and tournament champion SIUE has been predicted the preseason favorite ahead of the 2024 OVC men's soccer season. The Cougars picked up 11 of 16 first-place votes and 95 points in the poll of league head coaches and communications directors. Liberty picked up three first-place votes and 79 points in being tabbed second, followed by UIW (67 points), Lindenwood (66) and HCU (59 points and the final two first-place votes). The poll was rounded out Eastern Illinois (36 points), newcomer Western Illinois (25) and Southern Indiana (21).
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 $10.99 a month (or $109.99 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.