Belmont (4-4, 4-4 OVC) at SIUE (6-1-1, 6-1-1 OVC)
Date: Friday, April 2, 2021
First Kick: 5:30 p.m., CT
Location: Ralph Korte Stadium, SIUE
All-Time Series: SIUE leads 4-2-3
Last Meeting: Nov. 10, 2019 (L 0-0 [2-3 PK]) | OVC Championship | Houck Field, Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Video: ESPN+
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Game Notes: Game Notes (SIUE); Game Notes (Belmont)
SCOUTING THE BRUINS
The Belmont Bruins are entering Friday's contest at 4-4, coming off a 1-0 loss at Eastern Kentucky. Belmont finished the 2019 season with a 8-9-5 record, going 4-4-2 in OVC play. The Bruins are the defending OVC champions, taking down SIUE in penalty kicks to earn the conference title. Belmont would fall in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament, dropping a 5-0 decision at then-No. 2 seed North Carolina. SIUE and Belmont will meet for the 10th time on Tuesday, and the Cougars hold a 4-2-3 lead in the all-time series.
LAST TIME OUT
The Cougars got back to their winning ways on Tuesday, claiming a 1-0 decision at Tennessee Tech.
MacKenzie Litzsinger netted her sixth goal of the season off a rebounded
Lily Schnieders shot to score the lone goal of the match. SIUE goalkeeper
Taylor Spiller notched her fourth clean sheet of the Spring 2021 season against the host Golden Eagles.
MAKE ROOM IN THE TROPHY CASE
Lily Schnieders secured the first conference-level weekly award of her career on Sunday, earning the OVC Offensive Player of the Week award. Schnieders, who scored a pair of goals over two matches last week, joins
MacKenzie Litzsinger as the only two Cougars who have won the award this season.
DYNAMIC DUO
The dynamic duo of
Lily Schnieders and
MacKenzie Litzsinger has proven to be the most effective pair in the
Ohio Valley Conference, with nine goals, seven assists, and 25 total points between the two. Litzsinger and Schnieders are ranked first and second, respectively, in shots, shots on goal, points, and goals scored. The duo are also ranked in the top three in assists.
A LOOK BACK
The Cougars enter the Spring 2021 season coming off a 10-5-5 season in 2019, including a 5-2-3 record in
Ohio Valley Conference play. SIUE's success in the regular season earned them a spot in the OVC Tournament, where they fell to Belmont in a heartbreaking penalty shootout to decide the conference championship.
THE SEASON AHEAD
The OVC announced that women's soccer teams would play a 10-match conference-only schedule in Spring 2021, followed by a four-team tournament to determine the OVC champion. The schedule will use a round-robin format in which teams will play against every other team in the conference once.
