October 21, 2003
Eagles hopes home matches will get them back on track
The University of Southern Indiana men’s soccer team hopes the friendly surroundings of Strassweg Field will get it back on track with a two-match home stand to close out the regular season. USI will host Rockhurst University Wednesday, October 22, for a 3 p.m. non-conference match and the University of Missouri-St. Louis Saturday, October 25, for the GLVC finale at 2:30 p.m.
The Screaming Eagles enter this week’s action with an 8-6-0 overall record and 7-2-0 mark in the GLVC after losing their last two. The squad also has fallen out of the NSCAA Top 25 and slid to fourth in the Central Region.
Despite the losses and the drop in the rankings, USI is still in the thick of things in the GLVC and the NCAA Division II Central Region. The Eagles are assured of hosting at least a first round match in the league’s post season tournament Sunday, November 2, as either the number two or number three seed.
The Eagles hold their regional destiny in their own hands, but need regional wins over Rockhurst and UMSL this week and a goo performance in the GLVC Tournament to have chance at a berth in the NCAA Division II Tournament.
To start the stretch run, the Eagles will need to do something they have not done before — defeat Rockhurst. The Hawks, who are 8-6-0 overall, lead the all-time series with USI, 6-0-0, after defeating the Eagles, 6-1, last fall.
USI will honor its eight seniors – midfielder Matt Settles (Evansville, Indiana), forward Kedrin Lamb (Ft. Wayne, Indiana), midfielder Duncan Bray (Scotland), back Bryce Cooper (Greenwood, Indiana), back Brian Peroutka (St. Louis, Missouri), back Shawn Sloan (St. Peters, Missouri), midfielder Greg Dingrando (Marion, Illinois), and forward Scott Henderson (Evansville, Indiana) – prior to Saturday’s match with UMSL.
The Eagles have had success recently against the Rivermen, winning two of the last three matches, but UMSL leads the all-time series 11-2-1. UMSL enters this week’s action with a 6-10-1 overall record and a 4-4-1 GLVC mark and will play Truman State University Wednesday afternoon before coming to Evansville.
Ray Simmons, USI Sports Information
Assistant Coach
