EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Following a strong close to the regular season, the University of Evansville men's soccer team faces No. 4 seed Missouri State in the 2018 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Soccer Championship at 6:00 p.m. Wednesday at Arad McCutchan Stadium.
"We've got a lot of confidence in ourselves here," said Aces' men's soccer head coach Marshall Ray. "We also know that we can play in close games, so we've got experience doing that and that's what tournament play is all about. We want to give ourselves a chance at the end of the match to be there and be competitive and continue to push and battle and fight and hopefully get to Friday and see what we can do there."
The Aces head into the postseason after earning a 4-3 win over Bradley in a wild match in Peoria, Ill. on Saturday night. After Evansville went ahead 1-0 in the first half, the Braves tied the match at one early in the second period. Bradley move in front 2-1 on a penalty kick in the 64th minute. Evansville took back the lead with back-to-back goals in the 75th and 78th minutes that gave the Aces a 3-2 lead. Within the final 10 minutes of regulation, Bradley tied the match with a goal in the 83rd minute. As the final minute began to tick away. Evansville was awarded a penalty kick that junior midfielder Jesse-Stafford Lacey converted the opportunity, earning the 4-3 victory for the Aces.
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No. 5 UE vs. No. 4 Missouri State (Wednesday, 6:00 p.m.): Live Stats |
The Valley on ESPN (ESPN+) |
Missouri State Website
Evansville and Missouri State are meeting for the 33rd time with the Bears owning a 19-10-3 advantage in the series. In the regular season matchup between the two sides, the Aces and Bears played to a 1-1 double-overtime tie at Arad McCutchan Stadium on September 29. The Bears enter the postseason as the No. 4 seed in the MVC Championship after an 8-2-5 overall record and a 2-2-2 mark in MVC action this season. Offensively, the Bears are led by Josh Dolling, who leads the MVC with nine goals on the year. In goal, Missouri State has leaned on Michael Creek, playing in 14 of 15 matches, with a 0.60 goals-against average to go along with 41 saves. On the year, the Bears have been strong defensively, allowing just nine goals by its opponents all season.
Tickets for the 2018 MVC Championship are available for purchase at the gates of Arad McCutchan Stadium. Single day tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for youth with all-session passes available for purchase for $15.
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