Match Notes  -  Live Stats

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – For the 5th time in program history, the Purple Aces are on their way to the NCAA Tournament thanks to a victory over Loyola in the MVC Championship on Sunday.  Evansville will play the top seed in the country – defending National Champion Florida State.
 
It marks the first visit to the Big Dance since 2008 when the Aces defeated Indiana State in the MVC Championship match before traveling to Missouri in a first-round match-up.  UE is 0-4 in its previous four NCAA matches.  The Aces and Seminoles will get underway on Friday evening at 6 p.m. CT in Tallahassee.  There will be no live streaming or audio available for the match.
 
"It has been a good trip so far, we had a good day of training today and are looking forward to playing tomorrow," head coach Krista McKendree said.  "We got on the field today and really worked on the tactics that we think will give us the best chance tomorrow night."
 
"We had a long travel day yesterday, so when we got down here, we got the girls off of their feet and tried to get them caught up on their rest," McKendree added.  "Today we got down to business, but tonight, we really want the girls to enjoy this experience and clear their minds before tomorrow's match."
 
Sunday's MVC Championship match provided plenty of intensity.  Evansville out shot Loyola by a 22-11 tally with each squad getting three shots on goal.  The 90 minutes of regulation coupled with two 10-minute overtime periods was not enough as the match went into penalty kicks.  After Allie Arguello and Kayla Smith made the first two PK's, Evansville held a 2-1 advantage.  The game changer came next when Whitney Biggs made the save on Vichich Luc.  From there, Abby Springer, Bronwyn Boswell and Emily Richardson each made their attempts to clinch the championship.
 
Whitney Biggs was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2015 Missouri Valley Conference Championship as she shut out the competition in 200 minutes of action in the tournament.  She made four saves in the tournament, but had her biggest moment in penalty kicks as her save was the clincher in the triumph over Loyola.  On Tuesday, the honors continued to roll in for Biggs as she was named the MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week thanks in part to a 4.0 GPA.  Biggs was also named the MVC Goalkeeper of the Week (Nov. 4). Filling in for an injured Simone Busby, Biggs recorded four saves versus Missouri State to earn her first career shutout.
 
Aside from Biggs being named the MVP, Evansville had three other players named to the All-Tournament Team.  Allie Arguello, Colleen Dierkes and Emily Richardson were the other representatives on the squad.  Another accolade the team received came as Bronwyn Boswell was the recipient of the Elite 18 Award.
 
On Friday, the Aces will match up against the top seed in the nation - Florida State.  The Seminoles earned the seed as they rolled through the season with a 14-2-4 record and earned the ACC Championship with a win over Virginia.  The Seminoles took down the Cavaliers by a 7-6 margin in PK's.  Interestingly enough, FSU defeated UVA in the last two ACC Championship matches as well as last year's National Championship Match.  Cheyna Williams was the top scorer this season for Florida State, notching eight goals.  Megan Connolly led the way with 10 assists and a total of 22 points.  As a team, FSU gave up just 13 goals in 2015, outscoring the opposition by a 49-13 tally.
 

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