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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville women's soccer team will travel to Springfield, Mo., to open the 2013 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Sunday night, as the No. 5 seed Purple Aces will take on No. 4 Missouri State in a quarterfinal match at 5 p.m. at Plaster Field.  The winner of Sunday's match will advance to the semifinals and play top-seeded Illinois State Friday, Nov. 8, at Arad McCutchan Stadium.
 
Evansville (9-5-3) closed its regular season with a 2-0 loss to Loyola Thursday night at McCutchan Stadium, as the Ramblers scored a pair of second-half goals to earn the victory.  The Aces are winless in their last five matches and have failed to score a goal in any of those five contests, which spans 490 minutes.  UE's last goal came Oct. 6 at Northern Iowa, when it defeated the Panthers, 2-1, in overtime on a pair of goals by senior Lauren Tiernan.
 
Sophomore Kayla Smith, who has missed Evansville's last four matches due to injury, leads the team with 14 points on a team-high five goals and four assists.  Tiernan ranks second on the team with eight points on three goals and a pair of assists, while sophomore Abby Springer and senior Stephanie Thompson have added seven and six points, respectively.  Goalkeeper Simone Busby boasts impressive numbers between the posts, as the Chattanooga, Tenn., native enters Sunday's quarterfinal tilt with a 0.79 goals against average, .841 save percentage, 74 saves and six shutouts.
 
Despite their goalless streak, the Aces have still outscored their opponents, 20-14, and have posted a 12-5 goal advantage after the halftime whistle.  UE has also put up a 290-215 shot advantage, with 45.9 percent of those attempts being on goal.  Junior Taylor Brand, who is a five-time MVC Defensive Player of the Week selection, leads a back line that held opponents to 0.82 goals per game and a 41.4 percent shot on goal clip.
 
Missouri State (5-10-3) is also winless in its last five outings, as the Bears closed the regular season with three-consecutive losses to Oklahoma State, Indiana State and Illinois State.  In Thursday's regular-season finale, MSU dropped a 3-1 decision to Illinois State.  Molly Brewer scored Missouri State's goal in the 21st minute and led the Bears with two shots on goal.
 
Individually, Shelby Stewart leads MSU with 10 points, as she is tied for the team lead with four goals and has tallied two assists on the season.  Brewer and Molly Huber are tied for second on the squad with nine points.  Brewer has netted four goals and notched on assist, with Huber adding two goals and a team-high five helpers on a team-best 38 shots.  Goalkeeper Jessica Perry has allowed 21 goals in 1576:30 between the posts for a 1.20 goals against average and .788 save percentage.  Perry has turned away 78 opposing shots and recorded four shutouts.
 
Missouri State has been outscored, 23-15, this season and has given up 10 goals in the first half, while scoring just four.  The Bears have also been outshot, 224-169, but own a 73-71 corner kick advantage.
 
UE and MSU played to a scoreless tie in the regular-season meeting between the two sides.  Evansville outshot Missouri State, 19-8, in that match and put eight shots on goal, but Perry was able to deny the Aces on all eight attempts.  Springer and Thompson led UE with five shots apiece and Millie Kingsbury and Rachel Weimer each attempted a team-high two shots for the Bears.