Boxscore

The hometown girl couldn't have asked for more Wednesday night in her collegiate debut at McCutchan Stadium.  Evansville Reitz High School graduate Stephanie Thompson assisted on the first University of Evansville goal and scored the next two in the Purple Aces ' 5-1 exhibition game victory over Lipscomb University.

Thompson set up the first goal at 24:48 with a pass to sophomore Dani Langness, whose blast from 20 yards sailed past Lipscomb goalkeeper Erin Zerio.  The Lady Bison tied the match at 39:59 with Kate Spellman's goal, but two goals in eight minutes from Thompson early in the second half put Evansville in control.  The first came at 53:47 on an outstanding cross from fellow freshman Vanessa Legault-Cordisco.  Then at 61:10, Thompson did it all herself, weaving around a defender and sending a 10-yard chip over Zerio to give the Aces a 3-1 lead.

Sophomore Kristen Davis, the only player on this year's squad who scored a goal in 2009, scored on a toe tap after another outstanding pass from Legault-Cordisco at 62:27, and senior Susan McKinley made it a 5-1 match at 68:35 on Kasey Cartwright's assist.

"Our attacking players combined with each other well, and the key was that they finished a lot of their chances," said UE Coach Krista McKendree.  "We've got some work left, though.  We need to defend better as a team and get off to a quicker start, but overall, it was a good way to start off."

The Aces outshot Lipscomb 20-5, and put eight shots on goal compared to two by the Lady Bison, who came into the friendly with only 13 players because of injuries to their other five squad members.

Saturday's final exhibition match, at Southeast Missouri, will be played at 7:00 p.m. instead of the original 2:00 because of the excessive heat.