September 11, 2002
USI men’s soccer to start two match homestand Friday
The University of Southern Indiana men’s soccer team, which is ranked ninth in the Central Region, will start a short two-match homestand Friday, September 13, when the University of Missouri-Rolla Miners comes to Strassweg Field for a 7 p.m. match. The Screaming Eagles will finish the homestand with a 1 p.m. match against the University of St. Francis (Illinois) Fighting Saints Sunday, September 15.
The Eagles are coming off their spectacular overtime victory against #17 Hillsdale College last Sunday. USI junior forward Matt Settles (Evansville, Indiana) scored the Eagles’ first goal of the year with 7.9 seconds to play in overtime to defeat the Chargers.
USI and junior goalkeeper Josh Hill (Maple Park, Illinois) also posted the Eagles’ first shutout since 2000.
On Friday, USI and UMR will be playing for the 14th time since 1982 with the Eagles leading the series, 9-3-1. The Eagles won the match-up last fall in Rolla, Missouri, 2-1.
The Miners will come to Strassweg Field with a 2-1 record in 2000, playing all Great Lakes Valley Conference teams. UMR started the year with wins over the University of Missouri-St. Louis and Saint Joseph’s College, but fell to Northern Kentucky University. The Miners are ranked eighth in the Central Region.
Sophomore Sebastian Bustamante and junior Ryan Coates lead the Miners with two goals each. Freshman Michael White is in the goal for the Miners, posting a 1.67 goals against average in three matches.
The homestand finale will be the second meeting between USI and St. Francis. The Eagles won the only other contest between the two schools, 3-1, in Joliet, Illinois in 1999.
The Fighting Saints are 2-3-2 overall, winning two of the last three. St. Francis is led by senior forward Jose Lagunas, who has six points on two goals and two assists, and senior midfielder Hector Corona, who has five points on two goals and one assist.
Between the posts, senior Michael Noffsinger has posted a 1.23 GAA in three matches for the Fighting Saints.
Ray Simmons, USI Sports Information
Assistant Coach
