The University of Evansville men's soccer team stepped up another level this year with 10 victories for the first time since 1999. Now the Aces hope to step up again and win a State Farm MVC Tournament match for the first time since 1999.
The third place Aces (10-8-0, 3-3-0) take on sixth place Missouri State (6-10-3, 1-3-2) Wednesday at 5:00 CST at Omaha, Neb. in the quarterfinal round of the tournament. The match will be aired live by WUEV (91.5 FM), and can be heard at wuev.evansville.edu. The winner goes on to the semifinals Friday at 5:00 against regular season co-champion and number two seed Creighton.
"You work hard all season to prepare for the post-season," says Coach Mike Jacobs. "We have been peaking at the right time and playing our best soccer this time of year."
Evansville lost all of its MVC matches in 2005, but under Jacobs the Aces climbed to fifth in the league in 2006 and third this season in his second year. Their 10 overall victories are UE’s most since the 1999 squad finished 10-9-1. One more victory would give Evansville 11 for the first time since the 1996 team under legendary head coach Fred Schmalz finished 18-5-0. That’s the same season in which Evansville won its only MVC tournament title. The victory took place in Omaha, where the Aces beat Missouri State 1-0 in the semifinals and host Creighton 3-2 in the championship match.
Evansville is the nation’s seventh best in scoring this season with 43 goals for a 2.39 goals per game average. The Aces have been shut out just once, in a 2-0 loss at Bradley on Oct. 17. They scored nine goals, the most since the 1985 season, in a 9-0 win at Lipscomb on Oct. 31. Evansville’s 43 goals this season are the most since the Aces scored 61 in 1996.
Experience is one factor that Evansville is counting on this week. The Aces have two of the league’s top three goal scorers among active players. Seniors Ian McAuley (20) and Cory Elenio rank only behind Brad Peters of Eastern Illinois (23). Elenio put the Aces ahead of Creighton 1-0 Saturday with his seventh goal of the season before the Bluejays scored the final three goals of the match. Elenio leads the Aces in scoring with seven goals and nine assists for 23 points, and he ranks 12th nationally in assists. Elenio also scored the game-winning goal in Evansville's first match against Missouri State this season. The Aces topped the Bears 2-1 at Missouri State on Nov. 3. Midfielders Dustin Awe and Robby Lynch are tied for second in scoring with five goals and five assists for 15 points.
The Aces have allowed only 27 goals so far, the second best defensive total for UE since 1991. The 2003 squad allowed only 21 goals, thanks to Troy Perkins patrolling the nets. Perkins went on to become an MLS all-star last season in goal for DC United.
