EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville men’s soccer team will conclude its 2012 non-conference slate Wednesday evening in Bloomington, Ind., when it faces No. 16 Indiana at 6 p.m. on Jerry Yeagley Field.
 
The Purple Aces (9-5-0) head to Bloomington having won five of their last seven games, with every victory being a shutout.  UE posted a pair of key Missouri Valley Conference wins last week at Arad McCutchan Stadium, topping SIU Edwardsville, 1-0, Wednesday night Stadium, before downing Central Arkansas by the same score Saturday evening.
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Eric Teppen earned MVC Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performances against the Cougars and Bears, as he recorded a pair of clean sheets and made six saves.  Teppen made four saves against SIUE in a weather-shortened match and followed it up with a pair of stops against UCA in a match where the UE defense successfully defended eight second-half corner kicks, in large part to Teppen’s efforts between the posts.  Senior Jesse Sharp netted Evansville’s lone goal against the Cougars, finishing a cross from Mark Anthony Gonzalez, while freshman Nate Opperman tallied the game-winner against the Bears with help from Alex Kapsalis and Nick Schroeder.
 
Freshman Faik Hajderovic leads the Aces with 13 points on four goals and five assists this season and Sharp ranks second on the squad with eight points, scoring three goals and dishing out a pair of assists.  Gonzalez and Schroeder are tied for third on the team with seven points apiece.  Teppen leads UE’s defensive efforts and enters Wednesday’s match with a 1.23 goals against average, five shutouts and 53 saves in 1243 minutes in net.
 
Indiana (10-3-2) saw its five-match unbeaten streak come to an end Friday night against Big Ten Conference opponent Michigan, as the Hoosiers fell, 2-1.  IU’s only other losses have come to Akron and Notre Dame, as Indiana is outscoring its opponents, 27-10, including an 18-5 margin after the halftime whistle. 
 
Eriq Zavaleta leads the Hoosiers with 28 points on 13 goals and a pair of assists, ranking him fifth nationally in total goals and seventh in points.  A.J. Corrado is currently second on the team with a goal and a Big Ten-leading nine assists.  Seven other Indiana players have recorded multiple points this season.  Goalkeeper Luis Soffner has played every minute in net for IU and has allowed just 10 goals in 1405 minutes for a 0.64 goals against average, a mark that ranks 12th in the country.  In addition, Soffner has posted eight shutouts and owns a .844 save percentage.
 
Indiana has dominated the all-time series with Evansville, as the Hoosiers own a 24-4-3 record against the Aces and are 13-0-1 in the last 14 meetings.  Last season, then-No. 10 IU downed UE by a narrow 2-1 margin at McCutchan Stadium.  Evansville’s last win over the Hoosiers came in 1990, when UE defeated Indiana, 1-0, in the NCAA Tournament.