SIUE Cougars (4-8-2, 3-2-2 OVC)
at Liberty Flames (7-3-5, 3-1-3 OVC)
Sun., Oct. 25, 1:00 PM CT
Orborne Stadium, Lynchburg, Virginia

LAST TIME: SIUE ran its unbeaten streak to five games with a 2-0 win over UIW at Korte Stadium Sunday. The Cougars picked up their first two-win week after beating HCU Thursday night.

THIS WEEK: The third-place Cougars meet the second-place Flames Sunday afternoon. 

HOME COOKING: All but one of SIUE's wins have come at home this year where SIUE is 3-4.

STREAKING: SIUE is unbeaten (3-0-2) in its last five games. Four of those games have been clean sheets for the Cougars.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Wes Gibson (defender) and Noah Scheidweiler (goalkeeper) were named Players of the Week Monday following two shutout-wins. Evan Howard was named as the OVC Player of the Week 9/2 after he scored in each of SIUE's games in Colorado.

RANK AND FILE: SIUE has faced two ranked opponents so far this season, dropping 2-1 games on the road at No. 21 Denver and No. 16 Saint Louis.

THE SERIES: Tonight is only the fifth meeting in men's soccer between the two teams. The Cougars are unbeaten in those four games, winning all three of the games in Edwardsville. The Cougars and Cardinals have faced off twice in the OVC Tournament, with SIUE winning both games in Edwwardsville.

SCORING: Evan Howard is tied for second in the OVC with seven goals this year. Zach Renz scored his first career goal in Thursday's win over HCU. The Cougars had two first-time goal scorers 10/12 with Dom Bartoni and Ben Perkins both scoring at USI. SIUE lost its seven top scorers and eight of the top 10 after last season. The Cougars opened the season with just four goal scorers from a season ago representing six of 30 goals (20 percent) scored in 2024. Returners account for just 18 percent (15 of 85) of total points scored in 2024.

AT THE HELM: Two-time OVC Coach of the Year Cale Wassermann is in his seventh season in charge of the Cougars, and his 12th overall as a head coach. He has a record of 56-43-16 (.557) in six-plus seasons at SIUE. He is third all-time in wins at SIUE.