Men's Soccer ready for MVC showdown with Missouri State
EVANSVILLE – It will be a battle for conference positioning on Saturday as the University of Evansville men's soccer team returns to action with a Missouri Valley Conference showdown with Missouri State at Arad McCutchan Stadium.
UE vs. Missouri State (Saturday, 6 p.m.): Live Stats |
The Valley on ESPN3 |
Match Notes |
MSU Website
After picking up wins at Bradley and against Central Arkansas over the last two weeks, the Aces (6-3-1, 2-0-0 MVC) are off to their best league start since 1997. A win over the visiting Bears (4-3-1, 1-0-0 MVC) would give the Aces their first 3-0-0 start 1995.
The task at hand could prove challenging, as MSU enters the weekend with the second-best defense in the league. Through eight matches this season, the team has surrendered just six goals. They've tallied three shutouts on the year, and the lone league win was a 2-1 decision against Bradley last weekend.
UE, meanwhile, also boasts a stout defense, putting up four clean sheets. In addition, the offense has been dynamic as well. With nine combined goals, both Ian McGrath and Jared Robinson rank in the top three in the MVC in goals scored, and service from the midfield has been a large contributor to the scoring as Zac Blaydes and Jesse Stafford Lacey are among the league leaders with six and four assists, respectively.
UE has scored in each of the first 10 matches of the season, which hadn't occurred since 2007.
The defense, which has been led by the centerback pairing of Trevor Baum and Chris Shuck, has held opponents to one or fewer goals in six contests on the year. Freshman goalkeeper Frederik Reimer has been in net for all four shutouts, which includes each of the past two conference matches.
Kickoff on Saturday is slated for 6 p.m.
NOTES: Frederik Reimer has more clean sheets this season (4) than any goalkeeper since Eric Teppen in 2012 (5) … UE is 9-16-2 all-time against Missouri State … Last season, the Aces dropped a 4-2 decision to the Bears at Arad McCutchan Stadium … UE came out on the losing end of a pair of 1-0 overtime matches in both 2013 and 2014 … UE's last win in the series was a 2-0 victory in Springfield on Oct. 10, 2012 … The last home Aces win in the series was by a 1-0 scoreline on Oct 11, 2006 … UE is 33-30-8 all-time in matches against opponents from the state of Missouri … Since 1979, the Aces are 6-4-1 overall on Oct. 1 … Included in that is a 3-1 victory over then-No. 16 Butler in 2013.
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