The University of Evansville women's soccer team has opened each of its last four seasons with victories. Five in a row will depend on defense, according to Head Coach Krista McKendree, whose Purple Aces play their regular season opener Sunday with a 6:00 p.m. match at Southeast Missouri. UE and SEMO have played to 1-1 draws each of the last two years.

"The key for us is to be sound defensively," McKendree says. "Our midfielders and backs have looked pretty good so far. That's the most important thing. Then we can focus on how best to attack."

Players who accounted for 37 of UE's 45 goals last season have graduated, and McKendree started three newcomers at forward–-Kaitlin Oldfield, Dani Langness and Kristen Davis--in Tuesday's scoreless friendly with the University of Southern Indiana. Evansville is the defending Missouri Valley Conference regular season co-champion, and the Aces went on to win the MVC Tournament and earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in school history. UE finished with a 13-5-2 record in 2008, and McKendree became the first head coach to lead a UE team to the NCAA Tournament in his or her first year.

SEMO opens the season tonight against Indiana State before hosting the Aces Sunday.