Men’s Soccer Defeats University of Southern Indiana 5-0

The Liberty University Men’s Soccer team silenced the University of Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles, defeating them 5-0 Sunday, Oct. 20 at Osborne Stadium. This win brings the Flames to 5-2 in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) and 7-5-1 overall.

After snapping their two-game losing streak by defeating Eastern Illinois 2-0 on Thursday, the Flames were looking to claim a second conference win at home this week. Last year, the two OVC members met for the first time and walked off the field in a 1-1 tie.

“You’ve got to win these games at home, so I’m really pleased with our guys,” Head Coach Kelly Findley said. 

The Flames came out fired up, immediately taking possession of the ball. Senior forward Michael Huss found the back of the net in the first five minutes of the half with an unassisted goal. Huss is a leading scorer in the OVC with 10 goals, his ninth and 10th scored this game.

The Flames continued making their way down the line, taking shot after shot. But none were swift enough to sneak past the barricade of Southern Indiana goalie Andrew Klott. Sophomore forward Leo Conneh finally broke past the barrier to score the Flames’ second goal of the period with an assist from Huss around the 20-minute mark.

Photo by Anna Wheat | @annawheatphotography

“All the guys were just connecting well, and it was a beautiful atmosphere out here today,” Huss said. “We came out quick and hit the ball well and kept them off it. We just got a lot of chances, and it was fun.”

Energy picked up as Southern Indiana went down the field, searching for any opportunity to get on the board. The Flames’ defense prevented the Screaming Eagles from finding a goal before the clock ran out, ending the first half with 2-0 looming over the Eagles’ heads.

The Screaming Eagles hit the field in the second half with newfound momentum, but the Flames continued to hold them off. After traveling back and forth across the field and searching for an open spot, the Flames were in a position to score again as Huss found the back of the net for a second time with an assist from Conneh. 

“I thought we played really selfless,” Findley said. “Our pregame speech was about how good can we make others look and how much work can we do to elevate our teammates.”

The Flames gained more momentum with each goal, not letting their guard down long enough to give the Screaming Eagles an opportunity to score. Senior midfielder Gabe Findley found possession of the ball, rushing in from midfield to score his first goal of the game from 30 yards out with an assist from Huss.

“The goal today, before the game, was to help the other guys around you do better, and I think we saw that on the field,” Gabe Findley said. “The extra passes, no one was being selfish; it was just team goals after team goals.”

With two minutes left on the clock, junior forward Sam Farner found himself at the goal line, where he scored the final goal of the afternoon for the Flames.

The Screaming Eagles dribbled the ball back to their goal in a last-ditch effort to leave a notch on the scoreboard, but they could not succeed before the clock hit zero. The Flames had 20 shots to the Screaming Eagles’ 10. Despite cranking out two shots on goal, the Eagles left Osborne Stadium with zero on the board.

The Flames will hit the road again this week as they go on to face the Lindenwood Lions Oct. 25 in another conference match in St. Charles, Missouri, at 8 p.m.

White is the asst. sports editor for the Liberty Champion. 

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