FULL MVC RELEASE

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville men's soccer team was picked second in the annual Missouri Valley Conference preseason coaches' poll and both Mark Anthony Gonzalez and Faik Hajderovic were selected to the Preseason All-Conference Team, in an announcement made by the league office Wednesday.
 
Evansville, led by ninth-year head coach Mike Jacobs, accumulated 37 points and garnered a pair of first-place votes in the preseason poll to finish just nine points behind preseason favorite Missouri State.  The Bears received four first-place votes, while Bradley, who was tabbed third, received the final first-place tally and tallied 34 total points.  Drake (31) was selected fourth, while SIUE (23), Loyola (16) and Central Arkansas (9) rounded out the seven-team poll.
 
The Purple Aces finished 10-8-1 overall last season and knocked off a pair of nationally-ranked squads in Butler and Saint Louis, before finishing sixth in the final MVC regular-season standings with a 2-4-0 mark in league play.
 
UE returns 21 letterwinners and all 11 starters from last season's squad, including a pair of NSCAA/Continental Tire All-Midwest Region picks in Gonzalez and Hajderovic. 
 
Gonzalez led the Valley with nine goals during his sophomore campaign, including five game-winners, for his 18 points on the season.  The Toronto native was named to the All-MVC First Team, finished second on the squad with 47 shots and scored goals in five-straight matches from Sept. 14-Oct. 1.
 
Hajderovic added to his list of preseason honors with Tuesday's preseason all-conference honor, as the junior forward was named to TopDrawerSoccer's preseason All-America third team and was selected to the NSCAA's Preseason MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List.  Hajderovic led the country with 14 assists last year en route to earning NSCAA/Continental Tire All-Midwest Region First Team and All-MVC First Team accolades.  The St. Louis native led UE and ranked second in the conference in points (20) and points per game (1.05), while attempting a team-high 61 shots.
 
Gonzalez, Hajderovic and the rest of the Evansville squad will wrap up their preseason schedule with a pair of home exhibition contests against Cincinnati (Aug. 22) and Indianapolis (Aug. 24), before opening the regular season against Oregon State at the Nike Portland Invitational (Aug. 29).