The University of Illinois Springfield men's soccer team resumes NCAA Division II Tournament play this week. The Prairie Stars will face No. 7 Indianapolis in a third-round match on Thursday in Indianapolis, Ind. The winner will advance to Saturday's NCAA Quarterfinals.
 
UIS is having its best season in its NCAA era, and enters play on Thursday with a 13-5-2 overall record. The Prairie Stars have their most wins since their 2003 campaign, and they are in the Round of 16 of a national tournament for the first time since the 2002 NAIA National Tournament. Other program-bests this year include finishing second in the GLVC with a 10-2-1 conference mark, and they also reached the championship match of the GLVC Tournament for the first time.
 
The Prairie Stars played their first NCAA Tournament match in program history on Nov. 21, and they defeated Maryville by a 2-1 margin. Darian Turner tied the game at one in the 64^th minute, and then scored the game-winner less than four minutes into overtime. Lars Brinkman assisted on both of those goals.
 
UIS All-Conference Player
The biggest difference between the first UIS matchup this season with Indianapolis and this one is that all-conference goalkeeper Pijus Petkevicius is expected to be in net for the Prairie Stars. Petkevicius is a three-time all-GLVC performer, including earning second-team honors this season.
 
Petkevicius is fifth in the conference with a 0.99 GAA, sixth with four shutouts, and seventh with a .742 save percentage. The fourth-year player has appeared in 65 games as a Prairie Star. He has a career 1.03 GAA and .757 save percentage. He is 34-22-9, and has 22 shutouts.
 
UIS All-Region Players
UIS had two players named to the D2CCA all-region team. Marvin Zott was a first-team selection, and Conal Gallagher was a second-team pick.
 
Zott has been on the field for 96.5 percent of the team's minutes this season. He has anchored a UIS defense that has a 0.98 GAA, and allowed just 4.1 shots on goal a game. Zott has helped UIS record six shutouts, and allow one or fewer goal in 16 of the team's 20 contests.
 
Gallagher is a midfielder who has contributed to both the offense and defense. Offensively, he is 22^nd in NCAA Division II with four game-winning goals. He has five total goals and one assist.
 
Key Offensive Pieces
Lars Brinkman leads the team this season with six goals and 14 points. He has scored three game-winners. Browel Some leads the team with four assists, and he has four goals. Some is the team's top choice for penalty kicks, as he went three-for-four this year. Other players with multiple goals were Rory Carlson, Turner, Zott, and Brian Riordan. Other players with multiple assists were Carlson, Drew Keller, and Lucas Harris.
 
Key Defensive Pieces
While Zott leads the team's defense, it has talent across the back line. Terence Bynoe is a four-year starter for UIS, and Drew Keller is a three-year starter. Morgan Ratcliffe is in his first year after transferring in this season, and Armando Rosiles is a key part of the defense from his midfield position.
 
UIS vs. #7 Indianapolis
Date/Time/Location: Thursday, December 2, 6:00 p.m. (eastern) – Indianapolis, Ind.
Streaming: https://www.glvcsn.com/
Live Stats: http://sidearmstats.com/uindy/msoc  
All-Time Series: UIndy leads 12-1-1 (UIndy leads 7-1-1 in Indianapolis)
 
Indianapolis is the number one seed in the Super Region 3 bracket, and is ranked seventh in NCAA Division II. The Greyhounds are 16-1-2 overall. They won the GLVC regular season with a 10-1-2 mark, and also captured the conference tournament title.
 
Indianapolis is especially tough at home, with it not losing a match since 2019. The Greyhounds are 16-0-3 at Key Stadium over the the last two seasons. Their last home win was a 3-1 victory over Cedarville in the second round of the national tournament.
 
Indianapolis is tenth in NCAA Division II with 2.58 goals per game, and it is 15th nationally with a 0.771 GAA. The Greyhounds lead the nation with nearly 20 shots per game.
 
Alejandro Steinwascher was the GLVC leader with 12 goals and 32 points, and was second with eight assists. Makel Rasheed and Dylan Bollard are second on the squad with five goals. In goal is Dimitrios Karousos, who has a 0.75 GAA and a .755 save percentage.
 
Indianapolis has a 12-1-1 record in the all-time series with UIS. The most competitive games have been in the last five meetings, with the Prairie Stars winning one and tying another. Only a combined seven goals have been scored in that span.
 
Earlier this Season
UIS and Indianapolis have played once this season, with the Greyhounds winning the GLVC Championship game with a 2-0 victory over the Prairie Stars. Indianapolis scored on a pair of breakaways less than three minutes apart early in the second half.
 
The Greyhounds had a 15-8 shot advantage, including 6-2 on shots on goal. Fouls were within two of each other, and Indianapolis had five more tries from the corner.
 
Up Next
The winner of the UIS/Indianapolis contest will face the winner of the Lake Erie/Fort Hays State game on Saturday in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament. That game will be at 6 p.m. (eastern) in Indianapolis, Ind.