EVANSVILLE – The University of Evansville men's soccer team is off to its best start in three years, and on Saturday, the Purple Aces will return home to Arad McCutchan Stadium for just the third time this season as Missouri Valley Conference foe Central Arkansas will pay a visit to campus.
UE vs. Central Arkansas (Saturday, 2 p.m.): Live Stats |
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UCA Website
The Aces (4-3-1) are coming off a loss to 10
th-ranked Butler and will be entering Saturday's contest as the seventh-ranked team in the NSCAA west region. Of the three losses, two were against ranked foes in the Bulldogs and Utah Valley, with the other coming from a trip to Xavier on the opening day of the season. So far this year, UE is 3-0-0 in matches following a loss.
One of the big reasons for the team's success has been the defensive efforts of the squad following a loss. Two of UE's three clean sheets on the season have come in such contests, with freshman goalkeeper Frederik Reimer earning the plaudits each time. He's had help, of course, as the centerback duo of Trevor Baum and Chris Shuck have been joined by a number of fullbacks on the back line to help the Aces neutralize many of the threats that have come their way.
Offensively, it's been the 1-2 punch of Jared Robinson and Ian McGrath that has found the net most often. Both players have set career highs with four goals this season, which is already double what each had scored in their previous best season. Service, as is often the case, has played a major role in the pair's emergence, led in large part by Zac Blaydes and Jesse Stafford Lacey, who have logged five and four assists, respectively.
UE has scored at least one goal in eight consecutive matches, which is the longest such run for an Aces squad since 2013.
Meanwhile, UCA will be entering the contest, their first league showdown of the season, looking to get back on the winning side of things after a pair of overtime matches against Incarnate Word over the previous two weeks. The Bears are 2-3-1 on the year so far, but they have out-scored the opposition by a 13-8 margin.
Kickoff on Saturday is slated for 2 p.m.
NOTES: The last time UE scored in each of the first eight matches of a season was 2007, when UE managed to find the net at least once in each of the first 12 matches … The Aces are 6-1-1 all-time against UCA, and the two teams have met in each of the past six seasons … Last year, the Aces dropped a 3-0 decision in Conway … Prior to that, UE outscored the Bears 13-0 in six matches … UCA is the only opponent UE has ever faced from the state of Arkansas … Since 1979, the Aces are 5-4-0 on Sept. 24 … Saturday's match also marks the 950
th in school history … UE has staged more varsity contests than any other Valley school. SIUE is second with 898.
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