SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Most Summit League teams will hit the halfway point of their respective conference schedules this week with a half dozen contests on the docket between Saturday and Wednesday.
St. Thomas will play in two of those as the Tommies will look to remain unbeaten with league tilts at Omaha (Saturday) and Oral Roberts (Wednesday) -- two teams that are just a point behind league-leaders Denver and Kansas City.
The Pioneers, who moved up to No. 8 in the United Soccer Coaches' Top 25 and No. 12 in the
College Soccer News Top 25, and Roos will square off in a first-place showdown Saturday in the Mile High City. Both squads have seven points thanks to a pair of wins and a tie in league play.
The Golden Eagles and Pios also play two league matches this week. ORU welcomes Eastern Illinois for a Saturday home tilt before hosting the Tommies in the make-up of a postponed match from earlier in the season. DU stays at home for both of its matches as Southern Indiana will visit Wednesday.
Lindenwood rounds out the Saturday slate at Western Illinois.
FanMaker
Be on the lookout in the
PDF weekly notebook for a promocode offer to earn 200 reward points within the Fan Rewards section of the Summit League app! If you don’t have the free app, download now at thesummitleague.org/app.
TEAM TRACKER
(8/12) PIONEERS (7-2-4; 2-0-1; 7 pts SL) | @DU_MSoccer
Next Up: vs. Kansas City (10/15; 7 p.m. MT); vs. Southern Indiana (10/19; 7 p.m. MT)
Previous Matches: at St. Thomas (T, 0-0); at (25/23) Pittsburgh (T, 2-2)
The Pioneers wrapped up a tough non-conference slate with a 2-2 draw at (25/23) Pittsburgh ... DU went 2-0-3 against ranked foes this season and now close out the regular season with five consecutive league matches with the first two of those coming at home ... Sam Bassett opened the scoring against the Panthers and how shares the league lead with five goals on the season ... Freshman goalkeeper Isaac Nehme registered his sixth shutout of the season in a 0-0 draw with St. Thomas that saw him make three saves ... Denver opens its two-game homestand with a Kansas City team they share the top spot in the league standings with.
PANTHERS (1-7-3; 0-3-1; 1 pt SL) | @EIU_Panthers
Next Up: at Oral Roberts (10/15; 7 p.m. CT); vs. Kansas City (10/22; 1 p.m. CT)
Previous Matches: vs. Western Illinois (T, 1-1); at Bradley (T, 1-1)
The Panthers have reeled off back-to-back 1-1 draws with the first of those coming against Western Illinois and giving EIU its first point in Summit League play ... In both contests, EIU took the lead with a second-half tally only to surrender the equalizer less than five minutes later ... Lesego Maloma put the Panthers ahead 1-0 in the 65th minutes against WIU with his second goal of the season ... Hofstra transfer Sam Eccles gave his squad the lead in the 66th minute during a non-conference match with Bradley ... Eccles’ goal was his fifth of the camaign and gave him a share of the league lead.
ROOS (4-4-2, 2-1-1 SL; 7 pts) | @KCRoosMSoccer
Next Up: at Denver (10/15; 7 p.m. MT); at Eastern Illinois (10/22; 1 p.m. CT)
Previous Matches: vs. Oral Roberts* (L, 3-1); at Western Illinois* (T, 0-0)
The Roos dropped their first Summit League tilt of the season, falling 3-1 at home to Oral Roberts ... After giving up an early goal, KC evened things up at 1-1 when Samuel Nagy scored his first career goal in the 33rd minute ... ORU would net a pair of second-half goals to put the game away despite the Roos putting six shots on goal after the break ... Despite the loss, Kansas City enters the weekend tied atop the Summit League table with seven points ... The Roos are tied with Denver, who they will play in the Mile High City in a Saturday night clash.
LIONS (2-7-1; 1-2-0 SL; 3 pts) | @LU_Lions
Next Up: at Western Illinois (10/15; 1 p.m. CT), vs. Southern Indiana (10/23; 2 p.m. CT)
Previous Matches: at Evansville (L, 2-1); vs. Eastern Illinois* (W, 2-1)
The Lions posted their first Summit League victory in team history on Oct. 5, earning a 2-1 win over Eastern Illinois thanks to Cole Hutson’s goal in the 53rd minute ... EIU outshot the Lions 21-10, but LU goalkeeper Meldin Sabotic made seven saves and allowed only one goal ... Anis Smajlovic assisted on the game-winner to give a team-high three helpers on the season ... He also leads the team with three goals and nine points ... The Lions end a two-week break with a league tilt Oct. 15 at Western Illinois.
MAVERICKS (5-4-1; 2-1-0 SL; 6 pts) | @OmahaMSOC
Next Up: vs. St. Thomas (10/15; 7 p.m. CT); at Oral Roberts (10/22; 7 p.m. CT)
Previous Matches: vs. Denver* (L, 1-0); at Southern Indiana (W, 4-1)
The Mavericks return home following a 4-1 victory over Southern Indiana ... The Mavericks’ four goals were a season-high and equaled the most by a Summit League team in a match this season ... Newcomer Theo Klein, a transfer from Central Methodist, scored the opening two goals for his first tallies at the Division I level ... He also assisted on the fourth goal to match the most points (5) by a league player (teammate Kenji Obama Dem) ... Dem scored the third goal of the match to give him four on the season ... The Mavericks take on unbeaten St. Thomas Saturday at home.
GOLDEN EAGLES (6-3-2, 2-1-0 SL; 6 pts) | @ORUMSoccer
Next Up: vs. Eastern Illinois (10/15; 7 p.m. CT); vs. St. Thomas (10/19; 7 p.m. CT)
Previous Matches: at Central Arkansas (T, 2-2); at Kansas City (W, 3-1)
The Golden Eagles are 5-1-1 over their last seven matches and have won two straight in league play as they prepare to face Eastern Illinois Saturday ... ORU has scored 12 goals in those five victories ... In their last action, the Golden Eagles tallied a pair of second-half goals to defeat league-leading Kansas City, 3-1 ... Felipe D’Agostini, Reid Berry and Shane Anderson each scored their second goals of the season in the victory ... Berry’s game-winner in the 60th minute was the 21st of his career - a total that leads all active Summit League players.
TOMMIES (2-7-2, 1-0-1 SL; 4 pts) | @UST_MenSoccer
Next Up: at Omaha (10/15; 7 p.m. CT); at Oral Roberts (10/19; 7 p.m. CT)
Previous Matches: vs. Gonzaga (L, 3-2); vs. Denver (T, 0-0)
St. Thomas goalkeeper Tucker Mann was named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week following a 12-save, shutout performance against nationally-ranked Denver ... Mann also secured his second #SummitMSOC Defensive Peak Performer of the Week honor for his efforts ... The Tommies and Pioneers played to a 0-0 draw despite DU outshooting the home team, 19-3 ... UST’s three shots on goal were more than the Pios had allowed in their first two league matches combined (1) ... The Tommies will look to remain unbeaten in league play as they visit Omaha Saturday.
SCREAMING EAGLES (1-9-2, 1-2-0 SL; 3 pts) | @USI_MSoc
Next Up: at Denver (10/19; 7 p.m. MT); at Lindenwood (10/23; 2 p.m. CT)
Previous Matches: vs. Bellarmine (L, 2-0); vs. Omaha (L, 4-1)
The Screaming Eagles jumped out to a 1-0 lead on Omaha thanks to a 10th-minute goal by Ryan Nevins, but the Mavericks responded with four unanswered to claim the victory ... For Nevins, he moved into a share of the team lead with his second tally of the season (Nick Faddis and Sam Benoist) ... USI has the weekend off, but will return to action Wednesday at Denver to play the Pioneers for the first time in program history.
LEATHERNECKS (0-6-5, 0-1-2 SL; 2 pts) | @WIUMensSoccer
Next Up: vs. Lindenwood (10/15; 1 p.m. CT); vs. Detroit (10/18; 3 p.m. CT)
Previous Matches: vs. Green Bay (L, 2-1); at Eastern Illinois (T, 1-1)
The Leathernecks have alternated losses and draws since opening the season with back-to-back setbacks ... WIU’s five overall draws are the most in the league with the latest two coming in league action (0-0; Kansas City and 1-1; Eastern Illinois) ... Against the Panthers, senior Kyle Owen scored his first goal since his sophomore campaign in 2020 ... WIU stepped out of league play this past Tuesday, falling 2-1 to Green Bay ... The Leathernecks will look for their first win of the season Saturday at home against Lindenwood before playing their final non-league game Tuesday against Detroit.
#SUMMITMSOC
