SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -- Saturday in St. Paul will be the end of an era as Western Illinois head coach Dr. Eric Johnson coaches his final Summit League men's soccer game against St. Thomas. Johnson, a five-time Summit League Men's Coach of the Year honoree, will depart as the winningest coach in league history, amassing 187 overall victories and 78 in conference action over the span of his 27 seasons leading the Leathernecks' program.
The Leatherencks, who will play in the Ohio Valley Conference starting next season, and Tommies kickoff at 2 p.m. CT on the Summit League Network.
The remaining two league matches on the final day of the regular season have seeding implications for the upcoming Summit League Men's Soccer Championship in Tulsa that will be held Nov. 9-11.
Both of those contests could be precursors to semifinal matches next Thursday in Tulsa. Oral Roberts travels to Omaha and Kansas City visits Denver. The Pioneers and Golden Eagles are locked into the No.1 and No. 2 seeds, respectively, while the Mavericks and Roos could either be the No. 3 or No. 4 seeds depending on the results.
If Omaha, who enters the weekend in third place with 11 points, defeats Oral Roberts, then the Mavericks will earn the No. 3 seed and a rematch with the Golden Eagles in Thursday's second semifinal at 7 p.m. CT. If Kansas City, who is in fourth place with nine points, knocks off Denver and ORU defeats Omaha, then it will be the Roos who claim the No. 3 seed.
A Kansas City victory coupled with a draw between ORU and Omaha would give the Roos the No. 3 seed as well. If both Omaha and Kansas City lose Saturday, the Mavericks would be the No. 3 seed.
The regular season champion Pioneers will play in the opening semifinal of the championship against the No. 4 seed Thursday at 3 p.m. CT.
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Saturday, November 4
Western Illinois at St. Thomas* (SLN) | 2 p.m.
Oral Roberts at Omaha* (SLN) | 2 p.m.
Kansas City at Denver* (SLN) | 2 p.m.
#SUMMITMSOC Championship (Tulsa, Okla.)
Thursday, November 9
Semifinal No. 1 (SLN) | 3 p.m.
Semifinal No. 2 (SLN) | 7 p.m.
Saturday, November 11
Championship Match (SLN) | 2 p.m.
All times local to site
Key: ACCN (ACC Network), SLN (Summit League Network), B1G+ (Big Ten Plus) ESPN+, NIUAA (Northern Illinois All-Access), FLO (FloSports) NEC (NEC Front Row)
(Rankings) United Soccer Coaches/College Soccer News
TEAM TRACKER
(RV/23) DENVER (10-2-4, 31 pts; 6-0-1, 19 pts SL) | @DU_MSoccer
Next Up: vs. Kansas City (11/4; 6 p.m. MT)
Previous Matches: vs. St. Thomas* (W, 5-0); at (RV/30) Oral Roberts (W, 1-0)
The Pioneers clinched their ninth regular season title in the last 11 seasons with a 1-0 victory at (RV/30) Oral Roberts Saturday ... DU will be the No. 1 seed at the upcoming #SummitMSOC Championship and return to Tulsa for the event that the Golden Eagles will host Nov. 9-11 ... Goalkeeper Isaac Nehme matched his career-high with seven saves and recorded his 10th shutout of the season in the victory ... Nehme made five of those saves in the second half of a match that saw ORU outshoot 25-4 ... Nehme’s 10 shutouts are the second most among DI goalkeepers and he has surrendered just one goal in seven league matches, which equates to a .964 save percentage ... Redshirt freshman Bryce Willoughby scored the game’s lone goal in the 16th minute when he finished a cross from Holger Olsson, who has points in three consecutive league matches ... The Pioneers return home to face Kansas City in the regular season finale as they will look to go unbeaten in League play for the second consecutive season.
KANSAS CITY (4-6-4, 16 pts; 2-2-3, 9 pts SL) | @KCRoosMSoccer
Next Up: at (RV/23) Denver (11/4; 6 p.m. MT)
Previous Matches: at Omaha* (T, 0-0); vs. St. Thomas* (W, 1-0)
The Roos picked up their second league win of the season in thrilling fashion when Edson Murguia scored on a free kick in the 89th minute to lift Kansas City to a 1-0 victory ... It was the third goal of the season for Murguia, who now shares the team lead in that category with freshmen Brice Middleton and Hector Taboada ... Sophomore goalkeeper Robin Balters recorded his third consecutive shutout after the Roos’ defense only gave up one shot on goal against the Tommies ... Balters as started the last five matches for Kansas City, who is 2-1-2 during that stretch ... The victory also helped the Roos secure the final spot in the upcoming #SummitMSOC Championship where they will play either Denver or Oral Roberts in the semifinals ... Kansas City travels to Denver Saturday to wrap up regular season play and a win over the Pioneers and an Oral Roberts victory at Omaha would pit those two teams in the 2-3 matchup Nov. 9 in Tulsa ... If the Roos lose to DU, then those two teams will play in the first semifinal, pitting the No. 1 and No. 4 seeds.
OMAHA (6-6-4, 22 pts; 3-2-2, 11 pts SL) | @OmahaMSOC
Next Up: vs. (RV/30) Oral Roberts* (11/4; 2 p.m. CT)
Previous Matches: vs. Kansas City* (T, 0-0); at Western Illinois* (W, 2-1)
The Mavericks earned a 2-1 victory at Western Illinois to stay above .500 in league play ... Ede Gramberg put Omaha on the board in the 17th minute, finishing off a nice sequence from Junior Casillas and Martin Lago ... The lead was shortlived, however, as WIU answered less than two minutes later to square the match at 1-1 ... The game would remain tied until the 55th minute when Lago was fouled in the penalty box, setting up Theo Klein to convert his fifth penalty kick of the season to put the Mavericks in the lead for good ... Klein has a team-high seven goals overall, while Casillas took over the points lead at 16 with his fourth assist of the campaign ... Omaha plays host to Oral Roberts Saturday in a match that could be a precursor to a semifinal tilt the following week in Tulsa ... If the Mavericks beat or tie the Golden Eagles, then that will be the case ... Omaha would be the No. 3 seed in both of those scenarios but could be the No. 4 seed with a loss to ORU coupled with a Kansas City victory at Denver.
(NR/RV) ORAL ROBERTS (9-3-3, 30 pts; 4-1-2, 14 pts SL) | @ORUMSoccer
Next Up: at Omaha* (11/4; 2 p.m. CT)
Previous Matches: vs. Central Arkansas (W, 4-1); vs. (RV/23) Denver* (L, 1-0)
The Golden Eagles could not get any shots past DU goalkeeper Isaac Nehme Saturday in Tulsa as the Pioneers outlasted ORU 1-0 in a match that clinched the regular season title for the visitors ... The loss snapped an 13-match winning streak for ORU at the Case Soccer Complex dating back to the Golden Eagles final game of the 2021 season when DU also dealt them a 1-0 setback (Oct. 23) ... Luis Flores put three of his six shots on goal and the Golden Eagles put seven shots on frame in total but went scoreless for just the third time this season (all 1-0 setbacks) ... The Pioneers converted the only shot they put on goal in the 16th minute and that tally held up during a windy and rainy night at the Case Soccer Complex ... Flores continues to share the Division I lead with 14 total goals and has done that in 15 matches, which is the fewest among the quartet he is tied with ... Despite the shutout, ORO ranks in a tie for 10th nationally, averaging 2.40 goals per game and is outscoring league opponents 19-5 on the season ... ORU has wrapped up the No. 2 seed for the #SummitMSOC Championship the Golden Eagles are hosting Nov. 9-11 in Tulsa and will either play Omaha, who they cose the regular season with Saturday, or Kansas City.
ST. THOMAS (2-10-3, 9 pts; 0-5-2, 2 pts SL) | @UST_MenSoccer
Next Up: vs. Western Illinois* (11/4; 2 p.m. CT)
Previous Matches: at Green Bay (L, 2-1); at Kansas City* (L, 1-0)
The Tommies were the victim of an 89th minute goal at Kansas City, falling to the Roos 1-0 ... St. Thomas goalkeeper Moritz Krenc made four saves but could get a piece of a free kick from Edson Maguira that lifted Kansas City to the win ... Krenc has made 21 saves in five league starts ... At 0-5-2 in league play, St. Thomas has one more try to secure a win vs. Western Illinois Saturday.
WESTERN ILLINOIS (2-13-1, 7 pts; 1-6-0, 3 pts SL) | @WIUMensSoccer
Next Up: at St. Thomas (11/4; 2 p.m. CT)
Previous Matches: at Oral Roberts* (L, 2-0); vs. Omaha* (L, 2-1)
The Leathernecks will close out a 42-year run as a Summit League men’s soccer member with their final regular season tilt Saturday at St. Thomas ... Head coach Dr. Eric Johnson is the all-time winningnest coach in league history with 187 overall wins and 78 league wins ... WIU won six regular season and tournament titles under his watch.
#SUMMITMSOC
