• OVC Men’s Soccer Report – October 13 (PDF)
This Week’s Schedule
Thursday, October 15
*UIW at Eastern Illinois, 12:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*HCU at Western Illinois, 12:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*UTRGV at Southern Indiana, 5:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Lindenwood at SIUE, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Sunday, October 18
*UIW at Western Illinois, 12:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*UTRGV at SIUE, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*HCU at Eastern Illinois, 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Lindenwood at Southern Indiana, 3:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
OVC Players of the Week
OFFENSIVE
Diego Robles, F • 6-0, Jr. • San Antonio, Texas • UIW
Robles scored four goals in two matches, including a hat trick of Sunday against Southern Indiana, as UIW extended its unbeaten streak to three matches. On Thursday his goal in the 59th minute leveled the match as UIW and SIUE played to a 1-1 draw. In Sunday's 4-2 win over USI, the Cardinals found themselves behind 2-1 at halftime before the junior found the back of the net in the 56th, 76th and 85th minutes, each of them coming on penalty kicks. For the week he netted 11 shots on goal in 110 minutes of action. The three goals tied the OVC single-match record accomplished by four other players. Robles ranks third nationally in shot accuracy (70.0%) and 27th in goals per game (0.64).
Others Nominated: Sergej Misic, Eastern Illinois; Luke Neely, Lindenwood; Ryley Gibbs, SIUE; Jimmy Murphy, Southern Indiana; Xavier Gagnon, Western Illinois.
DEFENSIVE
Luke Neely, D • 6-0, 180, Sr. • Whitehouse, Texas • Lindenwood
Neely played all 90 minutes in both Lindenwood matches last week, the 10th and 11th time this season he has gone the distance. He helped key a defense that allowed two total goals, as the Lions won 3-1 at UTRGV and played to a draw with Western Illinois. The senior also scored a goal in the win at UTRGV and added an assist against WIU. The Lindenwood team ranks 11th nationally in team goals against average (0.69) and 15th in shutout percentage (46.2%).
Others Nominated: Elliot Forestier, SIUE; Reagan Gyedu, UIW; Ryan Wrobleski, Western Illinois.
CO-GOALKEEPER
Brady Cochrane, GK • 6-1, 190, Fr. • Wentzville, Mo. • SIUE
Making his fourth and fifth starts of the season, Cochrane helped SIUE to a 1-0-1 week as the Cougars jumped to the top of the OVC standings. The freshman allowed a goal in each match and five total saves over 180 minutes. In a 1-1 draw at UIW, Cochrane made four saves and followed that with one save in SIUE's 2-1 victory at HCU. In four OVC matches, Cochrane leads the League with an 82.4 percent save completion.
CO-GOALKEEPER
Harvey Bolland, GK • 6-1, Sr. • Irchester, England • Western Illinois
Bolland recorded a 1-0-1 record last week recording five total saves. The senior allowed just one goal in each match while making two saves in a 4-1 victory over Eastern Illinois and three saves in a 1-1 draw with Lindenwood.
Others Nominated: none
Other Notable Performances
Below are other notable performances from the past week.
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Ryley Gibbs (F, Jr.), SIUE. Scored a goal in each of SIUE's road matches last week and added an assist on game-winner against HCU.
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Sergej Misic (MF, Sr.), Eastern Illinois. Had a goal in each of the Panthers matchups last week; registered five shots on goal during the week.
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Xavier Gagnon (F, Sr.), Western Illinois. Scored two goals and had an assist in WIU's 4-1 victory over Eastern Illinois.
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Jimmy Murphy (F, So.), Southern Indiana. Had a goal in 1-1 draw with HCU and then assisted on a goal in match at UIW.
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Elliott Forestier (D, 5th Year), SIUE. Guided SIUE to an unbeaten week, as team allowed two total goals. Forestier also assisted on opening goal in 2-1 victory at HCU.
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Reagan Gyedu (MF, So.), UIW. Played 180 minutes as UIW was 1-0-1 on the week, allowing three total goals. Also scored a goal in match against Southern Indiana.
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Ryan Wrobleski (D, Jr.), Western Illinois. Helped key several key stops for a Leathernecks defense that allowed just two goals as WIU was 1-0-1 during the week.
Notes From Around the League
Highlights From Around the League: Following last week's action the regular season has reached the halfway point ... After a 1-0-1 week SIUE now has 10 points which puts it on top by one point over defending champion Lindenwood; those two teams will play on Thursday night in the only regular season matchup between the rivals this season ... SIUE leads the series 4-2-2 with Lindenwood since 2023 (when men's soccer began in the OVC) ... Lindenwood (2-0-3 in OVC play) is unbeaten through five conference matches for the first time in its Division I Era ... UIW's Diego Robles scored three goals against Southern Indiana on October 11, which tied the OVC single-match record held by four other players ... Nationally, UIW is second in shot accuracy (53.7%), Southern Indiana is fourth in saves/game (6.25) and Lindenwood is 11th in goals against average (0.69) and 15th in shutout percentage (46.2%).
EIU Records First Win over SIUE Since 1996: Eastern Illinois scored in the 89th minute on October 4 to defeat SIUE 1-0, it snapped a 10-game losing streak for the Panthers against the Cougars dating back to the 1996 season.
SIUE Wins Bronze Boot: SIUE topped rival Saint Louis (ranked No. 16 at the time) to claim the Bronze Boot match on Sunday, September 6. It marked the third time in four years that SIUE claimed the trophy. The rivalry dates back to 1969.
Okerayi Named to Players to Watch List: The United Soccer Coaches named its selection of forwards on its NCAA Division I Men's Players to Watch list for the 2026 season, with HCU's
Ryan Okerayi being named as one of 28 across the country. Okerayi is the first player in HCU program history to be recognized as part of a list compiled and released by the All-America Committees. The national watch-list acknowledgement is a lead up for the prestigious Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy, which is presented to the National Player of the Year at the end of the regular season.
Fourth Season of OVC Men's Soccer: This year marks the fourth 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 The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV are affiliate members, giving the OVC eight men’s soccer programs. This marks the first season for UTRGV in the OVC; the addition of Vaqueros gives the OVC its third men’s soccer institution in the state of Texas. Located in Edinburg, Texas, the program spent 10 seasons in the WAC before becoming an Independent for the 2025 season.
2026 OVC Tournament: The 2026 OVC Men's Soccer Championship will be held on the campus of Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri for the second-straight season. The top six seeds make the field, with the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds getting byes to the semifinals. The eight OVC men's soccer teams are divided into two scheduling pods, with each team playing the other teams in its pod twice during the season, and teams in the other pod once. The tournament format gives the winner of each pod a first round tournament bye. Seeds 3-6 are based on total points, regardless of scheduling pod.
Lindenwood Picked as 2026 OVC Preseason Favorite: Defending OVC champion Lindenwood has been predicted the preseason favorite ahead of the 2026 OVC men's soccer season. The Lions picked up 11 of 16 first-place votes and 94 points in the poll of league head coaches and communications directors. HCU (who has been in the OVC Tournament Final each of the past two years) and SIUE (who won the regular season and tournament titles in 2023 and 2024) finished tied for second-place with 80 total points. The Huskies picked up two first-place votes while SIUE received three. The poll was founded out by Eastern Illinois (54), UTRGV (46), UIW (42), Western Illinois (36) and Southern Indiana (18).
ESPN+: The OVC has a media rights deal with ESPN to air games on ESPN+, which is a service that features over 30,000 live events across college, international soccer, golf, tennis, combat, and the full ESPN Originals library. Fans have access to ESPN+ content via any ESPN subscription or Disney+, Hulu, ESPN Bundle subscription, as well as certain TV provider offerings. Please check with your TV provider to see if your TV package includes ESPN (Select or Unlimited offerings).