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No. 2 SIUE Cougars (7-7-3, 5-3-2 OVC) vs. No. 6 Eastern Illinois Panthers (5-9-4, 3-5-2 OVC)
OVC Tournament Semifinal
Wed., Nov. 11, 7 p.m.
Hunter Stadium
St. Charles, Missouri

LAST TIME: The Cougars and Panthers played to a 3-3 to tie to finish off the regular season at Korte Stadium Nov. 1. The game featured three lead changes and three penalty kicks. 

WHAT’S AT STAKE: The winner of Wednesday night’s semifinal will advance to the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Championship. Should the Cougars advance, it would be their third appearance in four seasons of OVC men’s soccer. 

TOURNEY TIME: This marks SIUE’s fourth tournament appearance in four seasons of men’s soccer. As the No. 1 seed in 2023 and 2024, SIUE won the title. Last season as the No. 4 seed, SIUE defeated Western Illinois in the quarterfinal, before falling to the eventual champions, Lindenwood in the semifinals.

RANK AND FILE: SIUE faced a pair of ranked opponent to start the season. The Cougars dropped an August 29 contest to 24th-ranked Michigan State (now No. 22). SIUE opened the season against No. 25 Kansas City (now No. 14). 

THE SERIES: This is the second consecutive meeting (for SIUE) and the third meeting of the season between SIUE and EIU. The Panthers won the first meeting, 1-0, October 4 in Charleston. EIU scored the game-winning goal with just 22 seconds remaining. That loss snapped a 10-game winning streak for SIUE in the series. The two teams tied 3-3 Nov.1 in Edwardsville.

SQUAD GOALS: SIUE has now had 10 total goal scorers this year, with Ryley Gibbs leading the charge. He is third in the OVC with seven goals. Only four goal-scorers returned from 2025. Dominic Bartoni, Colin Bastianoni, Gibbs and Ben Perkins are the only returners who found the back of the net, with each scoring once. 

SPANNING THE GLOBE: Ten different countries are represented on SIUE’s 2026 roster. 

AT THE HELM: Two-time OVC Coach of the Year Cale Wassermann is in his eighth season in charge of the Cougars, and his 13th overall as a head coach. He has a record of 65-53-19 (.544) in seven seasons at SIUE. He is third all-time in wins at SIUE. 

OWNING THE OVC: Now playing the fourth season since the OVC began men’s soccer, the Cougars have nine total losses to Conference opponents. SIUE sports a 26-8-6 record in regular season games and a 5-1 mark in the OVC Tournament.