EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville men’s soccer team will continue Missouri Valley Conference play Saturday night, when it welcomes Central Arkansas to Arad McCutchan Stadium for a 7 p.m. match.
 
The Purple Aces (8-5-0, 2-1-0 MVC) earned a key conference victory Wednesday night at McCutchan Stadium, downing SIU Edwardsville, 1-0, in a weather-shortened contest.  Freshman Nate Opperman scored the match’s only goal on a counter in the 76th minute, as he finished a cross from Mark Anthony Gonzalez, before inclement weather forced an end to the game with 9:36 remaining.
 
Freshman Faik Hajderovic leads Evansville offensive with 13 points on four goals and five assists.  With his assist on Wednesday, Gonzalez now ranks second on the squad with seven points, while four Aces are tied for third with six points apiece.  In goal, sophomore goalkeeper Eric Teppen has posted a 1.33 goals against average with four shutouts and 51 saves in 1153 minutes between the posts.
 
Central Arkansas (7-6-0, 1-2-0 MVC) ended a five-game losing skid Wednesday night on its home pitch, defeating MVC foe Missouri State, 1-0.  The Bears opened their conference slate with a 1-0 loss to Drake in Des Moines, Iowa, prior to dropping a 3-0 decision to Creighton last Saturday. UCA has put nearly 44 percent of its shots on goal this season, while holding its opponents to a 38 percent shot on goal average.
 
Manuel Montal leads the Bears with eight points, tallying all eight on four goals.  Ethan Miller and Daniel Sampedro have each scored twice and dished out a pair of assists for six points, and five other Central Arkansas players have each recorded points this season.  Cody Gibson has been the primary keeper for UCA and enters Saturday’s match with a 9-5-0 record, a 1.27 goals against average, three shutouts and 37 saves. 
 
Saturday’s match will be the fifth meeting between the Aces and the Bears, with Evansville holding a 3-0-1 advantage in the all-time series.  The two sides played to a scoreless draw last season in Conway, Ark., but UE posted victories in in 2010 (5-0), 2008 (3-0) and 2006 (3-1).