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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville men's soccer team will be looking to remain unbeaten on its home pitch Tuesday night, when it hosts in-state rival No. 23 Butler for a 7 p.m. tilt at Arad McCutchan Stadium.
Evansville (5-2-1) enters the contest having won its last four matches and will be seeing its first action since posting a 5-4 win over Eastern Illinois on Sept. 22 to conclude the ProRehab Aces Soccer Classic. Sophomore
Faik Hajderovic led the Purple Aces by recording four assists and scoring the game-winning goal with just 11 seconds remaining to earn a spot on TopDrawerSoccer.com's National Team of the Week. Juniors
Joel Craig,
Luis Romero and
Dylan Terry, along with sophomore
Mark Anthony Gonzalez combined for UE's other four goals.
Hajderovic leads Evansville offensively with 12 points, as the St. Louis native has scored two goals and leads the nation with eight assists. Gonzalez has tallied 10 points on a team-best five goals and freshman
Jared Robinson ranks third on the squad with seven points on two goals and three assists. Junior goalkeeper
Eric Teppen ranks 10th nationally with 42 saves and owns a 1.31 goals against average and .792 save percentage with a shutout.
As a team, the Aces have outscored their opponents, 16-13, and rank fourth in the country with 22 assists. In addition, UE has put 75 of its 155 shots on frame for a .484 shot on goal percentage. Evansville has earned 36 corner kicks, while conceding 43 and has allowed nine first-half goals.
Butler (7-1-1) has won its last three matches, including a 3-2, overtime victory over defending national champion Indiana last week in Indianapolis. In their last contest, the Bulldogs opened BIG EAST play with a 2-1 win over Villanova. Zach Steinberger scored both goals for Butler, finding the back of the net in the 20th and 72nd minutes. Goalkeeper Jon Dawnson collected six saves between the posts to preserve the win.
Individually, David Goldsmith has been one of the nation's top scorers, as he enters Tuesday's match with seven goals and 15 points, ranking him fifth and eighth in the nation, respectively. Steinberger ranks second on the team with 11 points on four goals and three assists, while Jeff Adkins has scored twice and dished out a team-best five assists for nine points. In goal, Dawson has allowed nine goals in 753:19 for a 1.08 goals against average and .786 save percentage. Dawson has also posted a pair of shutouts on the year and has collected 33 saves.
Butler has outscored its opponents, 18-9, this season and have posted a narrow, 111-109, margin in total shots. The Bulldogs have taken 45 corner kicks and put 47 shots on target for a .423 shots on goal percentage.
Tuesday will mark the 23rd meeting between Evansville and Butler, with the Aces hold a 13-9 advantage in the all-time series. The Bulldogs have won the last three meetings, including a 3-0 win over UE last year in Indianapolis.
