• OVC Men’s Soccer Report – September 10 (PDF)
This Week’s Schedule
Monday, September 9
HCU 2, @Omaha 2
Thursday, September 12
SIUE at Memphis, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Friday, September 13
Our Lady of the Lake
at UIW, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
Lindenwood at Utah Tech, 8:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saturday, September 14
Liberty at James Madison, 6:00 p.m.
HCU at Oral Roberts, 7:00 p.m. (Summit League Network)
Bellarmine
at Southern Indiana, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Sunday, September 15
Western Illinois at Gonzaga, 8:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
OVC Players of the Week
OFFENSIVE
Ethan Blake, F • 5-9, 181, Sr. • Jefferson City, Mo. • Lindenwood
Blake had two goals and two assists in a pair of victories for Lindenwood last week. In the team's 3-2 win over Evansville, the senior knocked in the game-winner on a penalty kick in the 89th minute, handing the Purples Aces its first defeat of the season. In that game Lindenwood overcame a 2-0 deficit, getting a pair of goals in the final seven minutes. In Sunday's 5-0 win over Westminster College he added a goal and two assists (including the game-winner) as the Lions evened their record at 2-2-1 on the season. For the week he led Lindenwood in shots (10), shots on goal (4) and points (6).
Others Nominated: Aidan Morrison, Liberty; Yasha Schaerer, SIUE; Sello Diphoko, UIW; Xavier Gagnon, Western Illinois.
DEFENSIVE
Wes Gibson, MF • 6-1, 180, Grad. • Morton, Ill. • SIUE
Gibson helped SIUE to a 1-0 neutral site victory over No. 8/19 Saint Louis as the Cougars claimed the Bronze Boot Trophy for the second-straight season. The graduate student captained the SIUE defense for all 90 minutes, helping the team to a shutout despite facing 13 shots from the nationally-ranked Billikens (seven in the second half).
Others Nominated: Carlos Trott, Liberty; Luke Neely, Lindenwood; Rochaine Baker, UIW.
GOALKEEPER
Rob Gjelaj, GK • 6-2, 185, Grad. • Romeo, Mich. • SIUE
Gjelaj recorded his first clean sheet in a SIUE uniform as the Cougars knocked off nationally-ranked (No. 8/19) Saint Louis 1-0 at a neutral site game played at CITYPARK in St. Louis. The graduate student made four saves, including one with just over three minutes to play. Additionally he made several other strong plays to keep the ball out of the six-yard box and away from dangerous areas. It marked the second-straight season SIUE had topped Saint Louis and claimed the Bronze Boot Trophy. Gjelaj, who earned Goalkeeper of the Week honors for the second time this season, ranks 11th nationally in saves/game (5.75)
Others Nominated: Kyce Toutanji, Eastern Illinois; Enzo Gil, Lindenwood; Alejandro De La Torre, UIW.
Other Notable Performances
Below are other notable performances from the past week.
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Sello Diphoko (F, Jr.), UIW. Diphoko scored two goals in a span of three minutes late in the second half as UIW came from behind to win at UTRGV (2-1).
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Yasha Schaerer (MF, So.), SIUE. Connected on a penalty kick in the 62nd minute as SIUE knocked off No. 8/19 Saint Louis to win the Bronze Boot for the second-straight year.
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Kyce Toutanji (GK, R-Sr.), Eastern Illinois. Toutanji made a career-high 10 saves as Eastern Illinois fell 1-0 at then undefeated Evansville.
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Rochaine Baker (D, Fr.), UIW. Played all 90 minutes in road victory over UTRGV. Was a key part of the defense that allowed only four shots and one goal as the Cardinals game from behind to win 2-1.
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Xavier Gagnon (F, So.), Western Illinois. Gagnon scored two goals and had an assist in the Leathernecks 4-2 win over Saint Ambrose. He scored in the 4th and 16th minutes.
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Aidan Morrison (MF, Fr.), Liberty. Scored his first collegiate goal in the 32nd minute at USC Upstate. The goal evened the score and Liberty would go on to win 5-2 to pick up its second win of the season.
Notes From Around the League
Highlights From Around the League: After a slow start to the non-conference schedule, OVC teams played better last week, winning six total matches ... Prior to last week OVC teams were 4-18-5 overall, with no wins against Division I opponents; four of the six wins last week were against Division I teams, including SIUE's victory over No. 8 ranked Saint Louis on Sunday ... In defeating Saint Louis, it marked the first time since 1979 and 1980 that the Cougars had defeated the Billikens in consecutive games in the series ... Nationally, Liberty ranks fourth in scoring offense (3.25 goals/game) and eighth in points/game (8.75) while SIUE ranks fourth in saves/game (6.5) ... Individually, Liberty's Michael Huss ranks seventh nationally in goals/game (1.0) while teammate Gabe Findley is 17th in assists/game (0.75) ... SIUE goalkeeper Robert Gjelaj is 11th nationally in saves/game (5.75).
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 was 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.