Several University of Evansville basketball games have been televised nationally from nearby Roberts Stadium, but Friday’s Fox Soccer Channel telecast of the Evansville-Drake men's soccer match will be the first nationally televised event from the UE campus. Kickoff is at 7:07 CDT at Black Beauty Field At Arad McCutchan Stadium as the Aces attempt to set a Black Beauty Field record for attendance. Several promotions are scheduled, and T-shirts commemorating the event will be given away. The announcers are Dean Linke, voice of the Carolina RailHawks, and Keith Tabatznik, longtime coach at Georgetown University.

Friday’s match brings together two of the top teams in the Midwest Region and Missouri Valley Conference. Drake (9-4-1, 4-1-0) is first in the MVC, #2 in the NSCAA Midwest Region poll, ranked #24 in the NSCAA national poll, and receiving votes in the Soccer Times poll. UE (9-5-1, 3-3-1) is fourth in the MVC, #7 in the Midwest Region, and receiving votes in both polls.

The Aces need a victory Friday to maintain the opportunity of capturing an MVC regular season championship. A victory would also assure the Aces of their fourth consecutive winning season under fourth-year coach Mike Jacobs, a feat most recently accomplished by the 1989 through 1992 teams. UE has allowed only one goal in each of its last five matches, but the Aces are just 2-2-1 during that stretch following Wednesday's 1-0 loss to second place Missouri State (9-3-2, 4-1-1). Creighton (6-3-3, 4-2-2) moved back into third place Wednesday with a 3-0 win at Bradley. First place Drake has won five of its last six, including a 3-0 win over Eastern Illinois on Wednesday.

Friday’s head coaches, Jacobs and Sean Holmes of Drake, were assistant coaches at the University of Evansville under legendary Fred Schmalz. Holmes was Schmalz’s top assistant from 1995-98, then took over the head coaching position at Drake. Jacobs was top assistant in 2000 and 2001, then spent four years as an assistant at Duke before returning to UE in 2006 as head coach.