• OVC Men’s Soccer Report – September 9 (PDF)
This Week’s Schedule
Monday, September 8
UIW 2, @#18 SMU 1
Tuesday, September 9
Longwood at Liberty, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Westminster College at Lindenwood, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Thursday, September 11
Western Illinois at UIC, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Loyola Chicago at SIUE, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Friday, September 12
UTRGV at UIW, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Saturday, September 13
James Madison at Liberty, 6:00 p.m.
Evansville at Southern Indiana, 7:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
Sunday, September 14
Le Moyne at Lindenwood, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
HCU at Florida Gulf Coast, 6:00 p.m. (ESPN+)
OVC Players of the Week
OFFENSIVE
Xavier Gagnon, F • 6-1, Jr. • Saint Colomban, Quebec • Western Illinois
Gagnon scored two goals and added an assist to finish the week with five points as Western Illinois split a pair of home matches. In Wednesday’s 3-2 victory over Bradley, the junior scored in the 28th and 45th minute and assisted on Liam Gainey’s game-winning goal in the 52nd minute. For the week he had seven shots (five of which were on goal) in 172 total minutes of playing time.
Others Nominated: Adam Boyken, Eastern Illinois; Ryan Okerayi, HCU; Sam Farner, Liberty; Matteo Landais, Lindenwood; Diego Robles, UIW.
DEFENSIVE
Leandro Haesler, D • 6-3, Sr. • Moenchengladbach, Germany • Lindenwood
Haesler keyed a Lindenwood defense that allowed just one goal over two matches, as the Lions improved to 5-0 on the season, the best start for the program since 2013. The senior played 172 total minutes, including all 90 in a 1-0 victory at Evansville to begin the week. Haesler also found the back of the net on the game-winning goal in the 59th minute. He ended the week by assisting on what proved to be the game-winning goal against St. Thomas.
Others Nominated: Fabricio Roberti, Eastern Illinois; Nico Kross, HCU; Casey McCarthy, Liberty.
GOALKEEPER
Alex Aitken, GK • 6-0, 180, Sr. • Great Barford, England • HCU
Aitken earned the honor for the second time this season after making four saves and recording a shutout as HCU went 2-0-0 to improve to 4-1-0 on the season. He began the week by posting a clean sheet in a 2-0 victory at UC San Diego (the team’s first road match of the year). Aitken made three saves in recording his 15th career shutout. He made one save on Sunday as HCU bested Oral Roberts 3-1. The senior currently ranks fifth nationally in minutes played (450:00) and 10th in shutouts (3).
Others Nominated: Franco Barba, Eastern Illinois; Tyler Beck, Liberty; Quinn Closson, Lindenwood.
Other Notable Performances
Below are other notable performances from the past week.
• Tyler Beck (GK, So.), Liberty. Beck made four saves in recording a shutout against VMI. Two of his four saves came one-on-one after the shooter came open.
• Casey McCarthy (D, Sr.), Liberty. McCarthy played all 90 minutes as Liberty won 3-0 at VMI. He helped key a defense that allowed only eight shots (only three from his side of the field, none of which were on goal).
• Ryan Okerayi (F, Jr.), HCU. Okerayi scored two goals last week, including the game-winner in a 2-0 victory at UC San Diego. His four goals ranks first in the OVC.
• Matteo Landais (MF, Grad.), Lindenwood. Landais had a goal and assist in the Lions 5-1 win over St. Thomas. His nine points of the season leads the OVC.
• Franco Barba (GK, Jr.), Eastern Illinois. Barba made seven saves and allowed only one goal as Eastern Illinois had a 1-1 draw at Milwaukee.
• Quinn Closson (GK, Grad.), Lindenwood. In 160 minutes of action last week, Closson made five saves, recorded a shutout and allowed only one goal.
• Diego Robles (F, So.), UIW. Recorded the game-winning goal in UIW’s 2-0 victory over Our Lady of the Lake.
Notes From Around the League
Highlights From Around the League: Including a win on Monday night, OVC teams were an impressive 8-3-1 in action last week … The week included UIW topping No. 18 SMU 2-1 on Monday; the Cardinals got a goal from Noe Robles in the 87th minute to pick up the victory … Lindenwood won twice last week to improve to 5-0-0 on the season, the best start for the program since 2013 … The Lions ranks second nationally in goal differential (+16) … Liberty is also undefeated (3-0-1) after a 3-0 shutout victory over VMI; Liberty has outscored its opponents 16-2 on the season … In its first road match of the season, HCU topped UC San Diego, then finished the week with a win over Oral Roberts to improve to 4-1 on the year; the team has played five matches over 15 days to start the season … HCU goalkeeper Alex Aitken collected his 20th career victory on Sunday, making him just the third keeper in program history with 20 or more victories … Nationally, Lindenwood also ranks second in assists (4.2/game) and points/game (11.4), Liberty is first in scoring offense (4.0 goals/game, fourth in goal differential (+14) and points/game (11.0) and ninth in assists (3.0/game) while Eastern Illinois is first in saves (8.25/game) … Individually, Lindenwood’s Matteo Landais is second nationally in assists (1.0/game).
Liberty Sets OVC Single Match Record for Goals: Liberty scored nine goals (eight in the second half) in a season-opening victory over Regent on August 21. It broke the previous OVC record of eight goals set by Lindenwood in 2023 (vs. UHSP).
Third Season of OVC Men’s Soccer: This year marks the third 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 Liberty are affiliate members, giving the OVC eight men’s soccer programs.
2025 OVC Tournament: The 2025 OVC Men’s Soccer Championship will be held on the campus of Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri for the first time. 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.
All Teams Eligible for Postseason Play: Lindenwood and Southern Indiana completed their reclassification to Division I this past summer and are now eligible for NCAA Tournament berths. The two schools finished the transition in a new expediated three-year timeline.
SIUE Picked as 2025 OVC Preseason Favorite: Two-time defending regular season and tournament champion SIUE was predicted the preseason favorite for the 2025 OVC men’s soccer season. The Cougars, who claimed both championships during each the 2023 and 2024 seasons, picked up 14 of 16 first-place votes and 98 points in the poll of league head coaches and communications directors. SIUE is 17-1-2 in Conference play in the first two years of men’s soccer in the OVC. HCU, who lost to SIUE in double overtime in last year’s tournament title game, picked up the other two first-place votes and 69 points in being tabbed second. They were followed by Lindenwood (67), Liberty (64), UIW (55), Western Illinois (39), Eastern Illinois (38) and Southern Indiana (18).
UTRGV to Join OVC as Men’s Soccer Affiliate in 2026: The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) will join the OVC as a men’s soccer affiliate beginning with the 2026 season. 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.
ESPN+: The OVC has a media rights deal with ESPN to air games on ESPN+, the multi-sport, direct-to-consumer video service from The Walt Disney Company Direct-to-Consumer & International segment. Fans can subscribe to ESPN+ for $11.99 a month (or $119.99 per year) as part of the ESPN Select Plan or as part of a bundle with Disney+ and ad-supported Hulu. ESPN+ is an integrated part of the ESPN App (on mobile and connected devices). More information can be found at www.OVCSports.com/ESPN.