Ohio Valley Conference Tournament
No. 1 SIUE Cougars (10-4-3, 8-1-1 OVC) vs. No. 5 UIW Cardinals (6-5-6, 3-2-5 OVC)
Wed., Nov. 13, 6:00 p.m. 
Bob Guelker Field / Ralph Korte Stadium
Edwardsville, Illinois

LAST TIME: SIUE has been idle since Nov. 3 when they closed out the regular season with a 3-0 win at Eastern Illinois. 

WHAT'S AT STAKE: A trip to the Ohio Valley Conference Championship game is on the line. The winner will meet HCU or Lindenwood in the final Saturday night. 

OVC-IT: This season marks the second season of OVC men's soccer. The Cougars have now won both regular season championships

TITLE TOWN: The 2023 regular season title was the first OVC title for a men's program in any sport at SIUE.

HOW MAY I ASSIST YOU: Yasha Schaerer assisted on all three goals in SIUE's 3-0 win over Eastern Illinois Oct. 3. It was the first time a Cougar had three assists in a game since 2006.

THE SERIES: SIUE and UIW will meet for the second time this season. They finished with a scoreless draw on Oct. 17 in San Anotonio. These two teams met in last year's tournament final with SIUE winning 1-0.

PENALTY BOX: SIUE is now 2-3 in penalty kicks. Yasha Schaerer (Saint Louis) and Nacho Abeal (at Lindenwood) have both converted. The Cougars were given a penalty nine times in 20 games in 2023 and was eight for nine in penalty attempts with five different players scoring.

AT THE HELM: Two-time OVC Coach of the Year Cale Wassermann is in his sixth season in charge of the Cougars, and his 11th overall as a head coach. He has a record of 50-33-14 (.582) in five seasons at SIUE. With the win at Southern Indiana, he is now third all-time in wins at SIUE.  

BRONZE BOOT STAYING IN EDWARDSVILLE: SIUE's shutout of the Billikens Sep. 8 means the Bronze Boot stays in Edwardsville for a second consecutive year. It is the first time the Cougars have won back-to-back games in the series since wins in 1979 and 1980.

TAKE YOUR SHOT: The Cougars recorded a season-high 27 shots at Lindenwood Oct. 10. It was the most shots in a game for the Cougars since they took 29 shots in a 2016 game against Central Arkansas. SIUE's .505 shot accuracy is second best in the OVC (trailing UIW) and No. 7 in the NCAA. 

BETWEEN THE PIPES: Grad transfer Rob Gjelaj has give SIUE back-to-back Goalkeepers of the Year. Before coming to SIUE, he appeared in 55 games making 53 starts over four seasons at Division II Northwood University in Midland, Michigan He finished as the school's all-time saves leader with 319. Last season he was fourth in DII with 97 saves. Gjelaj leads the NCAA in save percentage at .837. He leads the OVC with nine shutouts which ranks second in the NCAA. He is the league leader in total saves (72) and is second in the OVC in saves per game. 

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: The Cougars won 12 players of the week awards this season. Nic Muench has earned three awards. Gjelaj picked up six awards, tying SIUE's Sam Gomez (2023) for the most in a season.