The University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) men's soccer team begins its pursuit for a Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Tournament title by taking on McKendree University.
 
SETTING THE SCENE
Third-seeded (9-5-3) UIS takes on sixth-seeded McKendree (10-5-1) in a conference quarterfinal on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Kiwanis Stadium. UIS put together an 8-3-2 conference record while McKendree posted an 8-4-1 GLVC record.
 
The Prairie Stars grinded out a 1-0 overtime victory against the Bearcats on Oct. 5 when Javier Milla finished a cross from Rory Carlson during the 93rd minute. UIS and McKendree are ranked No. 7 and No. 8 in the latest NCAA Division II Midwest Region rankings, respectively, and are both for fighting for an NCAA Tournament spot in addition to a conference tournament title.
 
"I would expect McKendree to be another difficult game," UIS coach Adam Hall said. "They have a couple of players that had shown quality in the last contest.  They will be up for it, just like we will be."
 
STARS OF NOTE
Pijus Petkevicius is tied for first in the GLVC with eight shutouts. The freshman from Vilnius, Lithuania also ranks third in the conference with a .743 save percentage. Petkevicius has collected three GLVC Defensive Player-of-the-Week awards this season.
 
The Prairie Stars have surrendered just 1.04 goals per match, which is tied for fourth in the conference. Starters on the defensive line include Edward Rose, Terence Bynoe, Carlson, Rhys Wallace and Thiago Fernandes.
 
Mario Falsone leads the Prairie Stars with 14 points off five goals and four assists on the season. Wallace is currently second on the team in scoring with 11 points off five goals and an assist.
 
Falsone, Mario Gonzalez and Carlson each make up parts of a 10th-place tie with four assists apiece. Wallace is currently tied for third in the conference with three game-winning goals.
 
Daniel Kemp has contributed seven points off three goals and an assist. Gonzalez added a goal to his four assists for six points. Milla has tallied five points off two goals and an assist while Quentin Reese has netted two goals. Fernando Sanz de Galdeano has provided three assists while Harry Hiscock has put together two assists. Alex Morais has turned in three points off a goal and an assist.
 
Rose, Bynoe and Fernandes have each scored goals while Adrian Ortega, Emmanuel Nhonga and Alexander Gonzalez have tallied assists. Dan Mahony, Ahmadou Ndiaye, Alex Zarco, Andrew Mullican and Ahmed Momamed have also contributed to the UIS effort this season.
 
UIS DIVISION II RECORD BOOK WATCH
At eight shutouts, Petkevicius ranks first among single-season leaders and second among career leaders.
 
Falsone is tied for first with 33 career points. The Edinburgh, Scotland native is second with 13 career goals and trails the school record by one goal. Falsone also ranks second in career assists (7), is tied for third in game-winning goals (7), tied for third in single-season points, tied for third in single-season assists and tied for fourth in single-season goals.
 
Wallace is tied for first in career game-winning goals (5), tied for second in single-season game-winning goals, tied for fourth in career goals (9), tied for fourth in single-season goals and ranks fifth in career points (21).
 
Moore and Hiscock both make up parts of a fourth-place tie with five career assists. At four assists, Carlson and Mario Gonzalez make up parts of a fourth-place tie among single-season leaders and parts of a ninth-place tie among single-season leaders. Sanz de Galdeano is tied for eighth with three assists on the season.
 
A LOOK AT THE BEARCATS
Eddie Davis leads the Bearcats with 17 points off five goals and seven assists. Among GLVC leaders, Davis ranks third in assists (7), third in assists per match (0.47) and seventh in points per match (1.13).
 
Alvaro Cortazar starts at goalkeeper for the Bearcats and among conference leaders is tied for third in shutouts (5), ranks fourth in goals against average (0.96) and fifth in save percentage (.731).
 
McKendree ranks third in the GLVC by allowing one goal per match.  The Bearcats start a defensive line consisting of Luke Schloichting, Javier Soto, Jett Gay and Ariel Cardozo.
 
Raul Artega has netted four goals on the season. James Stone is tied for 10th among GLVC leaders in assists (4) and assists per match (0.29).
 
"It should be a great contest. Hopefully we can perform like we did last time and create enough good opportunities and execute some more of our finishes on the day."
 
LOOKING AHEAD
The winner of Sunday's contest will enter the first GLVC semifinal next Friday at 12 p.m. ET at Woerhle Athletic Complex in Jeffersonville, Ind. Next Sunday's championship matchup will consist of the two GLVC semifinal winners and will be held at 12 p.m. ET at Woerhle Athletic Complex. The Prairie Stars have their sights set on taking home a conference title.
 
"My goal is always to win each game.  I hope we can go all the way and do something special this year. The Woehrle Complex looks like a great surface to play on and if we can get the win over McKendree here on Sunday, I have no concerns that we can't go and play some great soccer at the semifinal."
 
GLVC OUTLOOK
The University of Southern Indiana (13-2-1), ranked No. 11 in the latest United Soccer Coaches (USC) NCAA Division II poll and ranked No. 1 in the latest NCAA Division II Midwest Region poll, holds the No. 1 seed in the GLVC Tournament. Fifth-seeded University of Indianapolis, defending GLVC Tournament champions, is also ranked No. 5 in the regional poll.
 
GLVC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
 
Sunday, Oct. 28
Quarterfinal #1: 2:30 p.m. ET –  No. 7 Quincy University (8-8-2) at No. 2 Bellarmine University (10-5-1); Louisville, Ky. (Live Stats) (Live Video)
Quarterfinal #2: 1 p.m. – No. 6 McKendree at No. 3 UIS, Kiwanis Stadium (Live Stats) (Live Video)
Quarterfinal #3: 1 p.m. – No. 5 University of Indianapolis at No. 4 Maryville University (9-4-3), St. Louis (Live Stats) (Live Video)
Quarterfinal #4: 2:30 p.m. ET – No. 8 Rockhurst University (7-7-2) at No. 1 University of Southern Indiana; Evansville, Ind. (Live Stats) (Live Video)
 
Friday, Nov. 2
Semifinal #1: 12 p.m. ET – Quarterfinal #1 Winner vs. Quarterfinal #2 Winner, Woerhle Athletic Complex; Jeffersonville, Ind.
Semifinal #1: 2:30 p.m. ET – Quarterfinal #3 Winner vs. Quarterfinal #4 Winner, Woerhle Athletic Complex; Jeffersonville, Ind.
 
Sunday, Nov. 4
Championship: 12 p.m. ET – Semifinal #1 Winner vs. Semifinal #2 Winner, Woerhle Athletic Complex; Jeffersonville, Ind.