On Thursday, Western Illinois and Southern Indiana scored victories to keep their OVC Tournament hopes alive, while Lindenwood locked up a first round bye and moved back into first place with a road win and UIW and UTRGV played to a draw.
CHARLESTON, Ill. - University of Southern Indiana Men's Soccer secured a 2-1 victory at Eastern Illinois University on Thursday afternoon, setting a new Division I program mark for wins in a season.
USI's (3-9-4, 3-5-1 OVC) win over EIU (4-9-3, 3-5-1 OVC) was the first program win at EIU since 2022, and provided a key three points in the Ohio Valley Conference standings as the Screaming Eagles sit in 6th place with only one match remaining.
The Panthers got things started in the match, scoring a goal in the 13th minute to give EIU a 1-0 lead. USI managed four shots, but EIU kept possession of the ball for much of the first half. In the 44th minute of the first half freshman midfielder Christian Rotundo was awarded a penalty kick to tie things up at 1 apiece going into halftime.
The Screaming Eagles picked up where they left off in the first half. In the 58th minute, sophomore midfielder Tony Murphy found Rotundo for his second goal of the match, giving USI a 2-1 lead. The Screaming Eagles were forced into their defensive third for much of the remainder of the match, but senior goalkeeper Kael McGowan made three key saves to preserve the 2-1 victory over the Panthers.
Rotundo's brace marked his third and fourth goals of the season. Murphy's sixth assist of the season moved him into a tie for the conference lead.
USI will conclude its regular season Sunday at 3 p.m. at Strassweg Field. The match will also serve as Alumni Day and Senior Day.
WESTERN ILLINOIS 2, SIUE 0
MACOMB, Ill. - The Western Illinois men's soccer team earned a 2-0 victory over SIUE on Thursday afternoon at John MacKenzie Alumni Field, powered by two first-half goals from George Frost and a shutout performance from goalkeeper Drew Heller.
Frost opened the scoring in the 21st minute, finishing a pass from Jack Schwering to give the Leathernecks a 1-0 advantage. Western Illinois continued to apply pressure, doubling its lead in the 28th minute when Frost found the back of the net again, this time with assists from Joel McIntyre and Nathan Bessinger.
The Leathernecks maintained their attacking pressure throughout the opening half, creating several scoring opportunities while limiting SIUE's chances. Heller came up with key saves to keep the Cougars off the scoreboard, helping Western Illinois carry its two-goal advantage into halftime.
SIUE looked to respond after the break, testing Heller with shots from Mathias Clausen and Ben Perkins. However, the Western Illinois goalkeeper remained composed, turning away the Cougars' attempts to preserve the shutout.
The Leathernecks continued to generate opportunities in the second half, with shots from Jack Schwering, Adam Reiniger and Ty Duax as they looked to extend their lead. Western Illinois' defensive unit held firm down the stretch, preventing SIUE from finding a breakthrough.
Heller and the Leathernecks' defense closed out the 90 minutes without conceding, securing the 2-0 victory. Frost led the way offensively with his two first-half goals, while Heller anchored the defensive effort with several important saves.
UIW 1, UTRGV 1
EDINBURG, Texas - The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros men’s soccer program battled to a 1-1 draw against the UIW Cardinals Thursday in an Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) match at UTRGV Soccer and Track & Field Complex.
The Vaqueros (4-5-5, 2-3-4 OVC) ended the season with a 1-0-5 home record. This is the first time since 1997 that UTRGV finished the regular season without a home loss.
The six home matches played this season are the most in program history for a season in which UTRGV finished undefeated at home. The Vaqueros join 30 other NCAA Div. I programs with unblemished home records in the 2026 season.
Following the draw, UTRGV is tied for fifth in the OVC standings with Eastern Illinois, Southern Indiana and Western Illinois. The top six teams in the OVC standings at the end of the regular season will qualify for the OVC Men’s Soccer Tournament.
Senior Malang Mandiang scored the first goal of the game in the 26th minute after using a give-and-go with junior Elias Taj to create space inside the box. Mandiang used one left-footed touch to strike the ball past the diving UIW goalkeeper Victor Salmeron.
The Cardinals (5-7-3, 4-3-2 OVC) tied the match in the 37th minute as Evan Kraenzel scored on a free kick.
The Vaqueros maintained a steady offensive pace throughout the match, generating a season-high 14 corner kicks.
The first opportunity for UTRGV came early in the match as the Vaqueros generated two corner kicks in the first five minutes. The second UTRGV corner was played short and passed around before Mandiang controlled possession, turned, and fired to the top right corner of the goal. The shot was just punched away by Salmeron.
After the Vaqueros scored in the 26th minute, UIW began creating more chances inside the box.
UIW outshot UTRGV in the first half 7-4. However, the second half was all Vaqueros.
UTRGV put up seven shots in the frame, including two on goal by Taj in the final 15 minutes. The final opportunity came in the 90th minute as sophomore Alvaro Abeal fired a rocket from the right sideline but it was corralled by Salmeron.
The Vaqueros outshot the Cardinals 11-9 with a 7-3 advantage in shots on goal. UTRGV generated 14 corner kicks to UIW’s two.
Salmeron ended the match with six saves while Knight tallied two saves to secure the draw.
LINDENWOOD 2, HCU 0
HOUSTON - Recap coming soon.