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Devyn Jambga’s overtime game winner sent SIUE to its first Missouri Valley Conference men’s soccer regular season title Saturday, Nov. 7 as the Cougars defeated Loyola 1-0 at Korte Stadium.

The win was the eighth consecutive for the Cougars who will take the No. 1 seed into this week’s MVC Tournament hosted by SIUE. The Cougars improved to 12-3-1 overall and 5-1 in the MVC.

Jambga netted the game-winning goal with six minutes to play in the first overtime. The goal was the sixth of the season for the sophomore, who leads the team in goals.

“We usually don’t play Devyn and Jabari (Danzy) at the same time,” SIUE Head Coach Mario Sanchez said. “I said to myself, ‘we talk about being aggressive, and I as a coach have to live up to that,’ so I put them both on and good things happen.

“I'm really proud of the guys. We started a little slow and nervous, and we told them to just go pursue it, relax and enjoy it. The second half, they were fantastic. I thought we dominated the second half.”

Nearly 900 fans also got to see SIUE honor its six graduating seniors. Justin Bilyeu, Garet Christianson, Danzy, Brett Lane, Paul Scheipeter and Wieser each were recognized prior to the game.

“I came here and kids come here because of the history of this program, the support from the community and the administration,” Sanchez said. “We're here to build something special. We’re here to be a top team in the Missouri Valley and a top team in the country.”

SIUE will play its first game in the tournament Friday at 6 p.m. The Cougars will face No. 4 seed Missouri State or No. 5 Loyola.

“It’s going to be great to play in front of our crowd and get an opportunity to play in the NCAA tournament,” Sanchez added.