The University of Evansville's women's soccer losing streak on Drake University's home field hasn't been that lengthy; the Aces have played there only twice since the Bulldogs began their program in 2002. But the overall losing streak against Drake now stands at six going into Friday's 7:00 Missouri Valley Conference match at the Cownie Soccer Complex in Des Moines.

A victory would be huge for the Purple Aces, now 8-2-2 overall and alone in first place with a perfect 3-0 MVC record. UE is off to its best start 2001. Drake is 3-7-1 overall and 1-1 in the league, and has won two in a row after defeating Northern Iowa 3-1 and Western Illinois 1-0 last week. In Drake's six-match winning streak against Evansville, the Bulldogs have won by one goal each time.

"We've had some great battles with Drake, but six times in a row they've come out on top and this may be our seniors' last chance to break the streak," says UE coach Krista McKendree. "It's important that we play focused for 90 minutes and start out strong against a team like Drake. That's not something we've done all the time on the road."

UE picked up its first road victory last Sunday by defeating Missouri State 3-1. The Aces go into Friday's match ranked 21st nationally in scoring with 2.5 goals per match. Senior forwards Kayla Lambert (11-4-26) and Mia Tofano (8-5-21) are ranked 13th and 36th, respectively, in Division I scoring. Lambert is four points away from the MVC record of 126 career points, set by Annie Wayland of Illinois State in 2002.