EVANSVILLE, Ind. – After splitting its first two Missouri Valley Conference matches on the road, the University of Evansville men’s soccer team will return to Arad McCutchan Stadium Wednesday night at 7 p.m., when it hosts SIU Edwardsville.
 
The Purple Aces (7-5-0, 1-1-0 MVC) opened conference play with a 2-0 win at Missouri State last Wednesday, before falling to Bradley by the same score Saturday night in Peoria, Ill.  UE and BU combined for 38 shots, but only put six on goal in the contest, with only the Braves finding the back of the net.  Bradley scored a pair of goals in a two-and-a-half minute span late in the first half for the win.
 
Nine of Evansville’s last eight matches have ended in a shutout, including the last seven, with the Aces going 4-4 in those contests.  UE blanked Cincinnati, Oral Roberts and Eastern Illinois, but failed to find the back of the net against Butler, Kentucky and Bradley.  On the season, Evansville is outscoring opponents, 19-17, and has scored 12 of its 19 goals in the second half.
 
Freshman Faik Hajderovic leads Evansville with 13 points this season on four goals and five assists.  Mark Anthony Gonzalez, Nick Schroeder, Jesse Sharp and Dylan Terry are all tied for second on the squad with six points.  Sophomore goalkeeper Eric Teppen has played all but 17 minutes between the posts for UE and enters Wednesday’s match with a 1.43 goals against average, 47 saves and three shutouts.
 
SIU Edwardsville (10-4-0, 2-1-0 MVC) has won three of its last four games, including its last two, in which the Cougars topped Bradley, 4-1, and Missouri State, 2-1.  SIUE’s conference loss came at Creighton, where it fell, 1-0, in double overtime.  Of the Cougars’ four losses, three have come against nationally-ranked teams, as they suffered setbacks to Akron, Indiana and the Bluejays.
 
SIUE has outscored its opponents, 23-11, this season and have taken 33 more corner kicks.  Seven SIUE players have scored a goal this season, including Christian Volesky, who leads the Cougars and the Valley with 16 points and eight goals.  Peter Kelly has also reach double figures in scoring, racking up 12 points on five goals and a pair of assists.  In goal, John Berner has been the primary keeper for SIUE, allowing just eight goals in 906:45 for a 0.79 goals against average.  Berner has also collected 32 saves and recorded three clean sheets.
 
Wednesday will mark the 14th meeting between the Aces and Cougars, with SIUE holding a slim 6-5-2 advantage in the all-time series.  Last season, SIU Edwardsville shut out UE in Edwardsville, Ill., scoring goals in the fifth and 8 1st minutes for a 2-0 victory.