EVANSVILLE – As the season enters its final stretch, the University of Evansville women's soccer team is starting to peak at the right time, and the Purple Aces will definitely be put to the test on Sunday when league-leading Illinois State will pay a visit to Arad McCutchan Stadium.
UE vs. Illinois State (Sunday, 1 p.m.): Live Stats |
The Valley on ESPN3 |
ISU Website |
Match Notes
Both teams enter the contest in control of their own Missouri Valley Conference destiny. A win for the visiting Redbirds (10-5-2, 3-0-1 MVC) would secure the regular season championship and the top seed at next month's tournament. However, a win for UE (4-10-2, 3-10 MVC) would put the Aces in the driver's seat heading into next weekend's clash with Missouri State, which currently sits fifth in the standings with a 1-2-1 MVC mark.
The Aces are certainly entering the contest with a sizable amount of momentum after taking home three of their past four matches, but the Redbirds have been even better in recent weeks with a 10-match unbeaten run.
UE's hopes will be buoyed by the reemergence of Bronwyn Boswell, who fired home the winner in Wednesday's victory over Indiana State. The senior out of Frisco, Texas, put an end to a seven-match scoreless streak with her sixth goal of the season, and she enters the final two matches of the regular season with 20 career goals, just two shy of former UE standout Jessica Schwartz for the seventh-best total in the school history books.
Mikayla Harvey also found the net in the win over the Sycamores, scoring her second goal in three matches, and she was assisted by both Montana Portenier and JBess Ruby. Portenier, who missed all of last season due to injury is the only other player on the team with multiple goals, and Ruby, who has ascended to a starting role this season after playing mostly as reserve in the previous two seasons, has earned a goal and two assists over the past three matches.
Defensively, Emily Richardson, an all-conference first-teamer, is the stalwart in the middle of the Aces backline, and a pair of freshmen, Olivia Panella and Samantha Brown, have lined up beside her in recent weeks as the Aces have not allowed multiple goals since mid-September. Whitney Biggs, has played every minute in goal, recording three shutouts in the process.
Kickoff on Sunday is set for 1 p.m.
NOTES: Bronwyn Boswell is two goals away from moving into a tie for seventh on UE's all-time scoring list … The Aces are 8-14-3 all-time against Illinois State … Last season, the Aces picked up a 2-1 overtime victory over the Redbirds in Normal … The win put an end to a four-match losing streak for the Aces against ISU … The Aces are 25-28-9 all-time against schools that hail from the state of Illinois … UE is 3-2-0 all-time on Oct. 23.
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