Fred Schmalz should be proud. The legendary Aces’ soccer coach was a mentor for many assistant coaches who went on to direct their own programs, including Drake head coach Sean Holmes and Evansville’s Mike Jacobs. Those two will be on the sidelines Saturday night when the Aces host Drake at 7:00 on Senior Night at Black Beauty Field.

The Aces' two seniors, goalkeeper Alec Dufty and defender Kipp Erskine, will be honored prior to the game.

Holmes was Schmalz’s right hand man from 1995-98, and Jacobs played the same role in 2000 and 2001. Both have turned into outstanding head coaches. Drake (12-4-0, 3-1-0) is ranked 25th nationally this week, and has already set a school record with 12 victories. The Aces (9-6-1, 2-2-0) are guaranteed of their third consecutive winning season under Jacobs, something that hasn’t happened since the 1994 through 1996 teams went 38-20-5.

Saturday's game is all about positioning for next week’s State Farm MVC Tournament at Black Beauty Field. With a win, the Purple Aces will grab the tournament’s third seed. Any other result lands UE in fourth place. Drake is guaranteed to finish first or second with a win Saturday, but would finish fourth with a loss. The top two finishers in the regular season advance directly to Friday’s semifinals. Third through sixth place teams must play each other Wednesday in order to reach the semifinals on Friday.

Creighton is currently first with a 3-0-1 record heading into Saturday's match at last place Eastern Illinois (0-4-0). Drake is second at 3-1-0, Missouri State is third at 3-1-1, Evansville is fourth with a 2-2-0 record and Bradley is fifth at 1-4-0. Missouri State and Bradley have already played their full slate of MVC matches.