DES MOINES, Iowa -- The road to a Missouri Valley Conference championship for the University of Evansville women's soccer team begins in Iowa and ends in Nebraska, neither of which is very close to Evansville, Indiana.  

But that's OK with coach Krista McKendree's Aces, who begin their trek Sunday with a 1:00 CDT match at Drake in the State Farm MVC Tournament quarterfinals.  Fans can follow live stats Sunday at
http://www.godrakebulldogs.com/liveStats/liveStats.dbml?&temp_site=NO&DB_OEM_ID=15700

Evansville (5-11-1, 2-4-0) is the number five seed in the six-team event, and Drake (10-5-3, 3-3-0) is number four.  The winner goes on to Omaha, Neb. for the semifinal round next Friday against regular season champion Creighton.

"It would be nice to play at home Sunday, but it really doesn't matter when it's time for the tournament to begin," McKendree said.  "You just go where they tell you, and play hard and expect a good outcome.  I think our girls are confident, even if we're playing on the road.  They've made a lot of improvement during the season."

Evansville led for more than 25 minutes in the Aces' Sept. 26 match at Drake, thanks a goal in the 25th minute by freshman Breanna Beine.  But Drake's Laura Moklestad scored the tying goal at 52:00 and the winner in overtime at 98:25 to give the Bulldogs the regular season victory.