• OVC Men’s Soccer Report – October 27 (PDF)

This Week’s Schedule
 
Thursday, October 29
*Southern Indiana at Eastern Illinois, 2:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*SIUE at Western Illinois, 3:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*UIW at UTRGV, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Lindenwood at HCU, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)

Sunday, November 1
*Lindenwood at UIW, 11:30 a.m. (ESPN+)
*Eastern Illinois at SIUE, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*UTRGV at HCU, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
*Western Illinois at Southern Indiana, 3:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
 

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OVC Players of the Week
 
OFFENSIVE
Clarenns Sainrimat, F • 6-1, 170, Jr. • Marcoussis, France • HCU
Sainrimat scored three goals on three total shots in two matches, as HCU went 1-0-1 on the road during the week. He scored the equalizing goal in the 73rd minute against UTRGV, as the Huskies earned a 2-2 draw in the resumption of a game that was suspended due to weather back on October 1. Sainrimat ended the week with a brace in a 5-2 win at UIW, scoring in the 70th and 75th minutes as HCU overcame a 2-1 halftime deficit with four second half goals. The junior logged 101 total minutes during the week; he had scored just one goal in the other 13 matches prior to this week.
 
Others Nominated: Miguel D'Amico, Eastern Illinois; Amos Boum Nlend, SIUE; Ahiro Nakamae, Southern Indiana; Elias Taj, UTRGV.
 
DEFENSIVE
Milton Kapaya, D • 5-7, 133, Jr. • Lyon, France • Lindenwood
Kapaya helped key a defense that allowed only one goal in a victory over Eastern Illinois, and he also added an assist on the offensive end as the Lions improved to 4-1-3 in OVC play. He assisted on a goal in the 21st minute of the game, his first helper of the season. Kapaya played all 90 minutes for the 10th time this season and held the Panthers to zero shots on goal in the second half.
 
Others Nominated: Milton Kapaya, Lindenwood; Nico Kross, HCU; Archie McDonnell, SIUE; Emmanuel Gore Bi, UTRGV.
 
GOALKEEPER
Conrad Knight, GK • 6-2, So. • London, England • UTRGV
Knight led UTRGV to an unbeaten week, making seven saves over two matches as the team moved into sixth place in the OVC standings. He began the week with four saves in a 2-2 draw with HCU; in that match he had two crucial saves late to keep the match even and earn the point. He concluded the week with a clean sheet against Western Illinois, making three saves to help the Vaqueros to its first home victory of the season.
 
Others Nominated: Quinn Closson, Lindenwood; Brady Cochrane, SIUE.
 
 
Other Notable Performances
Below are other notable performances from the past week.
 
• Elias Taj (F, Jr.), UTRGV. Scored a goal in each match last week helping team to 1-0-1 mark.
 
• Amos Boum Nlend (F, Jr.), SIUE. Scored the game-winning goal against USI, netting his first goal of the season in the 23rd minute.
 
• Miguel D'Amico (D, Jr.), Eastern Illinois. Scored in team's matchup at Lindenwood.
 
• Ahiro Nakamae (MF, Jr.), Southern Indiana. Scored his first goal of the season, on a header against SIUE.
 
• Nico Kross (D, Sr.), HCU. Returned to pitch for first time since October 4, coming into second half against UIW, and helping defense not allow a goal in come-from-behind win.
 
• Archie McDonnell (D, Sr.), SIUE. Keyed defense that allowed only one goal and had an assist in SIUE's 3-1 win over USI.
 
• Quinn Closson (GK, 5th), Lindenwood. Made four saves and allowed only one goal in victory over Eastern Illinois.
 
• Emmanuel Gore Bi (D, So.), UTRGV. Played 169 minutes in two matches, keying a defense that allowed only two goals and went 1-0-1.
 
 
Notes From Around the League
 
Highlights From Around the League: There are just two matches left in the regular season, with the field for the 2026 OVC Men's Soccer Championship being set on Sunday ... The top six teams will make the field and compete in St. Charles, Missouri from November 8-14 ... SIUE has a one point lead over Lindenwood in the standings, and can clinch a bye to the semifinals with one point this week; the Cougars were the No. 1 seed and won tournament titles in 2023 and 2024 ... Lindenwood goalkeeper Quinn Closson is one clean sheet away from breaking the school's Division I Era career record (he is currently tied for first with 12) ... UTRGV won its first home match since 2024 in topping Western Illinois on Saturday; the team is 1-0-4 at home this season with one home match left (UIW on Thursday) ... The last time UTRGV went undefeated at home was in 1997 (2-0-1); the team did not compete in men's soccer from 1998-2014 ... HCU scored a season-high five goals on Sunday at UIW, four in the second half, to win for the first time at UIW since 2018 ... HCU's Jess Degenaers had a career night at UIW, hitting a penalty kick and assisting on three HCU goals; he had four helpers in two matches on the week ... Nationally, Lindenwood is sixth in goals against average (0.69) and 18th in shutout percentage (43.8%), UIW is fifth in shot accuracy (51.5%), Southern Indiana is fifth in saves (6.07/game) and Eastern Illinois is 11th in corner kicks (6.87/game) ... Individually, UIW's Diego Robles is first in shot accuracy (73.0%), fourth in game-winning goals (4) and 19th in goals (0.64/game), HCU's Harvey Heeps is fourth in goalie minutes played (1431:35) while Lindenwood's Quinn Closson is eighth (1406:32) ... Closson is also 14th in goals against average (0.70) ... USI's Jacob English is sixth in saves (5.25/game).
 
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).
 
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