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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville women's soccer team will open its regular season this weekend by hosting Austin Peay and Saint Louis at Arad McCutchan Stadium.  The Purple Aces will open their 2014 season against the Lady Govs Friday night at 7 p.m., before welcoming Saint Louis Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.
 
Evansville concluded its preseason schedule with a 0-1-1 record, after falling to Wright State, 1-0, and earning a 1-1 draw with UNLV.  Sophomore Bronwyn Boswell tallied the Aces' lone goal of the preseason, finishing a chance in the 23rd minute against the Rebels.
 
UE finished 9-6-4 last season and return 17 letterwinners, including nine starters from its 2013 squad.  Evansville welcomes back three of its top five point scorers from last year, including junior Kayla Smith, who led the team with 14 points as a sophomore, despite being limited to just 13 games due to injury.  Fellow junior Abby Springer scored nine points with four goals and an assist last season and sophomore Emily Richardson tallied five points on a pair of goals and an assist.
 
Evansville also welcomes back four players who earned Missouri Valley Conference postseason honors, including All-MVC Second Team selections Taylor Brand and Simone Busby.  Brand was a five-time MVC Defensive Player of the Week last season, while Busby led the Valley with a 0.91 goals against average and tied for the league lead with six shutouts.
 
Austin Peay dropped both of its preseason matches, falling to Indiana State, 1-0, before suffering a 5-0 setback at Kentucky.  The Lady Govs return 12 letterwinners, including six starters from last year's team that finished 11-6-2 and tied for sixth in the Ohio Valley Conference with a 5-4-1 record in conference matches.
 
APSU is under the direction of head coach Kelley Guth, who is in her 13th season, and was picked to finish fifth in the OVC preseason poll.  Gina Fabbro returns as Austin Peay's top point producer from last season, as she scored 17 points (7 G, 3 A) and earned spots on the OVC All-Newcomer and All-Tournament teams.  Also returning are Shelby Olszewski, who scored 13 points on six goals and an assist, was a two-time OVC Player of the Week in 2013, and goalkeeper Nikki Filippone, who posted at 0.80 goals against average last season, a mark that ranks second in the Lady Govs' single-season record book.
 
Saint Louis finished 1-0-1 in its two preseason matchups, earning a 3-1 win over Southeast Missouri State, before playing Arkansas State to a 1-1 draw.  The Billikens, who will play at UT Martin Friday, before heading to Evansville, return 18 letterwinners and nine starters from their 2013 team that finished 6-10-3 overall and tied for second in the Atlantic 10 regular-season standings with a 5-2-1 mark in league games.
 
SLU was selected to finish fourth in the Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll and is led by second-year head coach Katie Shields.  Saint Louis' defensive unit will be led by A-10 Preseason First Team selection Mary Wright.  Wright logged a team-high 1,782 minutes last season and helped the Billikens to five shutouts.  SLU will be without its top three offensive threats from last season, but will welcome back Cristina Rodriguez, an A-10 All-Rookie selection last season and Maddy Bush, who scored four points on a pair of goals in her 17 starts.
 
Evansville leads the all-time series with Austin Peay, 4-0, but the two teams have not met since 2008, when the Aces downed the Lady Govs, 5-1, in Evansville.  In the all-time series with Saint Louis, the Aces are Billikens are tied, 4-4-1, with SLU holding a 2-0-1 advantage in the last three meetings.  Saint Louis topped UE, 4-0 and 2-0, in 2011 and 2012, before playing to a 1-1 last year in St. Louis.  Evansville last win over the Billikens came in 2001, a 2-1 victory at McCutchan Stadium.