The University of Evansville women's soccer team makes two trips to Omaha, Neb. in the next three weeks, and championships are on the line each time.
The first comes on Saturday, when Coach Krista McKendree's Aces (10-3-2, 4-1-0) take on Creighton (11-5-0, 2-2-0) at 1:00 CDT. A victory would give UE at least a share of the Missouri Valley Conference regular season title for the first time since 2000. It would also give UE its 11th victory, something that hasn't been reached since the 2001 team won 13. Saturday's match is the Aces' final one in league play.
The second trip to Omaha comes in early November for the Nov. 5-7-9 State Farm MVC Tournament, with the winner advancing to the NCAA Tournament.
Currently, the Aces are one-half game ahead of 3-1 Illinois State and 3-1 Drake in the MVC standings. Saturday's match will include the top three scorers in the league. Creighton's Marcy Gans leads with 14 goals and three assists for 31 points, just ahead of UE's senior duo of Kayla Lambert (12-6-30) and Mia Tofano (11-7-29). Lambert is tied with former Illinois State great Annie Wayland for the MVC career scoring record, with 126 points. Lambert is ranked 16th nationally this week in goals, and Tofano is 26th.
After Saturday, Evansville has just one regular season match remaining--on Tuesday at IUPUI.