Posted: Nov 03, 2024

Tournament Central (Soccer): SSU men to host IU-East; SSU women to travel to IU-East in RSC Quarterfinals

After 17 official matches for the Shawnee State men's soccer program and 15 for the Shawnee State women's soccer program, the real season begins in earnest Wednesday as both programs begin contests that carry win-or-go-home stipulations along with them.

Both units qualified for the River States Conference Tournament for the second consecutive season since joining the conference in July 2023 -- with the Shawnee State women's soccer program set to play the Indiana-East women's soccer program at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 6 on the road and the Shawnee State men's soccer program set to host the Indiana-East Red Wolves' men's soccer program at 5 p.m. on the same day at Shawnee Turf.

A preview of both matchups are below:

River States Conference Women's Soccer Quarterfinals -- No. 6 Shawnee State at No. 3 Indiana-East (Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2 p.m.)

Previewing Indiana-East

Indiana-East is led by the following:

Senior defender/midfielder Denise Davalos (three goals, assist, seven points)
Senior goalkeeper Kylie O'Leary (58 saves)
Freshman midfielder Zarayah Griffin (three goals, assist, seven points)
Junior defender/midfielder Ava Wittrock (two goals, two assists, six points)
Junior defender Ava Meyer (two goals, four points)
Senior midfielder Morgan Grudich (two goals, four points)
Sophomore forward Katherine Lopez Cruz (goal, two assists, four points)
Junior defenders Vanessa Temple and Grace Harris (two goals, two assists, six points combined)

Reviewing Shawnee State

Shawnee State went 3-8-3 overall but went 3-3-3 in the River States Conference to complete the regular season in 2024.
In its first match against Indiana-East back on Oct. 3 at Shawnee Turf, the Bears drew 1-1 with the Red Wolves.
Freshman goalkeeper Harlee Brand notched her second career start in this match and officially assumed primary goalkeeping duties the rest of the way after saving seven shots in that contest. Brand has made 53 saves, holds a save percentage of .736 and has a goals-against-average of 1.87 with three shutouts to her credit.
Carlota Ipina Taylor scored her second goal of the 2024 season in the match, scoring with less than five minutes left to play in the opening half on a free kick. Ipina Taylor, Annie Coriell and Lucie Ashkettle each have multiple goals to lead the Bears offensively.
Defensively, Shawnee State has given up just 10 goals in conference play -- but that total lowers to only six since the beginning of October. The Bears have allowed more than one goal only once over its last eight matches.
Shawnee State's defensive consistency can be credited to its backline. Senior captain Claire Favre and sophomore Elizabeth Brown have appeared in and started in each of SSU's 15 contests, while freshman Izzy Riddle has appeared in 15 affairs and started 14 of those bouts. Sophomore Ariane Davis has also been a consistent presence in the lineup, appearing in 14 games and starting in 11 of those matchups.

River States Conference Men's Soccer Quarterfinals -- No. 4 Shawnee State vs. No. 5 Indiana-East (Wednesday, Nov. 6, 5 p.m. -- Shawnee Turf, Portsmouth, Ohio)

Previewing Indiana-East

Indiana-East is led by the following:

5-9 senior forward Tristan Thomas (four goals, three assists, 11 points)
5-8 junior forward Hoi Lian (three goals, six points)
6-3 freshman defender Noah Backhaus (two goals, assist, five points)
5-8 sophomore midfielder Bawi Ting (goal, three assists, five points)
5-9 sophomore midfielder Keylin Hyman (two goals, assist, five points)
5-7 freshman forward Marco Cruz (two goals, four points)

Reviewing Shawnee State

Shawnee State finished the 2024 regular season with a 7-7-3 overall record and a 4-2-2 overall River States Conference mark.
In its first match against Indiana-East back on Oct. 3 at Shawnee Turf, Shawnee State got two goals within the first 20 minutes from Cameron Thompson, then got second-half salvos from Nikos Pontikis and João Coqueti Léo in a 4-0 triumph over the Red Wolves.
Offensively, SSU got goals from 12 different individuals over the 17 games that it played during the regular season:
- Nikos Pontikis leads the Bears with seven goals and 18 points and is tied for the team lead with four assists.
- Cameron Thompson is second on the team with five goals, while his 10 points are third on the squad.
- Marco Riva is tied for the team lead with Pontikis and Guillermo Conejo Martin with four assists, and sits second on the team with 12 points. His four goals are tied for third on the unit.
- João Coqueti Léo's four goals are tied with Riva for third on the SSU squad, while his nine points are tied with Théo Cavaleiro Trindade for fourth on the team.
- Théo Cavaleiro Trindade has three goals to sit fifth in that category, and his three assists are third on the team. His nine points are tied for fourth with Coqueti Léo as previously mentioned.
- Alfie Maynard has two goals and two assists for a six-point output, despite missing six games due to injury.
- A defensive leader, Guilherme 'Belo' Bitencourt has scored both of his goals on successful penalty kick conversions.
- Guillermo Conejo Martin's four assists are tied with Riva and Pontikis for the team lead as mentioned.
Between the posts, Eric Green has started and played in all 17 contests this season for Shawnee State, the only player to both play and start in all 17 contests and one of five to appear in all 17 games along with Thompson, Riva, Matt Stam and Sean Williams. Green has made 69 saves and holds a 1.83 goals-against-average in 2024.

Additional

The Shawnee State and Indiana-East women's soccer contest will be shown at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/iue/. The Shawnee State and Indiana-East men's soccer contest will be displayed at https://www.youtube.com/@ssubearsathletics/streams.