• OVC Men's Soccer Report - September 3 (PDF)
This Week’s Schedule
Wednesday, September 4
Eastern Illinois at Evansville, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Thursday, September 5
St. Ambrose
at Western Illinois, 5:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Friday, September 6
HCU at Drake, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Liberty at USC Upstate, 6:00 p.m.
Lindenwood at Evansville, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saturday, September 7
UIW at UTRGV, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Sunday, September 8
Southern Indiana at Mercer, 10:00 a.m. (ESPN+)
Western Illinois at Northern Kentucky, 12:00 p.m.
Westminster College
at Lindenwood, 3:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
SIUE vs. #8 Saint Louis, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+) (CITYPARK – St. Louis)
OVC Players of the Week
OFFENSIVE
Ethan Giwa-McNeil, F • 5-10, 180, Sr. • London, England • HCU
Giwa-McNeil put home two fantastic finishes for the HCU in its first win of the season against North American last week. The senior took a quick give in the box and turned one touch into his first goal of the season, then completed his second career brace on a nice run up the left channel for the collection and blast from just inside the 18. Overall he had eight shots (four on goal) during the week while playing 118 total minutes. For the season EGM leads the team with 10 shots and four shots on goal.
Others Nominated: Ahiro Nakamae, Southern Indiana; Xavier Gagnon, Western Illinois.
DEFENSIVE
Hans Leza, D • 6-0, 160, So. • Houston, Texas • HCU
Leza played all 180 minutes in a pair of matches against North American and Gonzaga (the fourth-straight game he has done so this year). The team allowed just three goals in the two matches while going 1-1 on the week. The sophomore added an assist in Sunday's loss at Gonzaga.
Others Nominated: Joel McIntyre, Western Illinois.
GOALKEEPER
Alex Aitken, GK • 6-0, 180, Jr. • Great Barford, Bedfordshire, England • HCU
Aitken denied eight shots in net in HCU's 4-1 victory over North American to open last week. He ended the week with five saves against Gonzaga in the Huskies first road test of the season (a 2-1 loss). Aitken currently ranks sixth nationally in saves per game (6.50).
Others Nominated: Micah Ramirez.
Other Notable Performances
Below are other notable performances from the past week.
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Ahiro Nakamae (MF, Fr.), Southern Indiana. Scored two goals in USI's match at Green Bay. He is the first Eagle to have three goals in his first three collegiate matches since Eric Ramirez in 2016.
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Xavier Gagnon (F, So.), Western Illinois. Gagnon scored his first goal of the season against Quincy off a soaring header from a set piece.
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Joel McIntyre (D, So.), Western Illinois. Played all 180 minutes in two total matches last week and scored his first collegiate goal on Sunday vs. Quincy.
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Micah Ramirez (GK, Jr.), Western Illinois. Left the Bradley match at halftime (trailing 2-0) but made six saves and recorded a shutout against Quincy.
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Michael Huss (F, Sr.), Liberty. Scored his third goal of the season last Monday in a 2-2 draw with Longwood. The goal in the 20th minute notted the match and neither team would score over the final 70 minutes of action.
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.