EVANSVILLE – After an opening weekend split, the University of Evansville men's soccer team will be looking to keep momentum going this week with a trip to the Hotels at Grand Prairie Soccer Series, which will take place on the campus of Bradley in Peoria, Ill., on Friday and Sunday.
Men's Soccer Match Week No. 2
UE vs. No. 16 Utah Valley (Friday, 4:30 p.m.): Live Stats |
UVU Website
UE vs. Fairleigh Dickinson (Sunday, Noon): Live Stats |
FDU Website
The Aces (1-1-0) are coming off their first win of the season last time out, a 2-0 decision at Northern Kentucky, but they may be facing their toughest opponent of the season on Friday as the team is set to square off with 16
th-ranked Utah Valley, which is in just its third season. The Wolverines (1-0-0) opened the year with a 2-1 win over then-No. 20 Washington, which actually had a man advantage over UVU for the majority of the second half.
Following Friday's contest, the Aces will return to action Sunday for a showdown with Fairleigh Dickinson, which also enters the weekend with a 1-1 record. The Knights fell in last Friday's opener 1-0 against NJIT before rebounding with a 4-0 victory over Howard.
Meanwhile, UE will be looking to replicate the kind of production it had out of its freshman class in the NKU win, a match that saw both Ben Weber and Ian Gammon find the back of the net. In addition, another newcomer in Frederik Reimer earned his first career clean sheet in goal. In all, eight freshmen saw action for the Aces in the contest.
However, it's not just newcomers excelling for UE. Jared Robinson, a senior, found the back of the net inside the first two minutes of the season in Friday's match at Xavier and followed up with an assist at NKU. Both Ian McGrath and Zac Blaydes, who each took home league recognition last season, have also notched assists on the year.
Kickoff on Friday is slated for 4:30 p.m., and Sunday's contest will begin at noon.
NOTES: This weekend will mark the first-ever meetings between UE, Utah Valley and Fairleigh Dickinson … The Aces have also never faced an opponent from the state of Utah … UE is 2-1-0 against New Jersey, picking up wins over NJIT and Seton Hall … Sunday's win over NKU was the first opening weekend road victory for Aces since 2012 … It was also the first away shutout on an opening weekend since at least 1979, the first year that UE has full schedule information.
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