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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville women's soccer team will open the 2022 regular-season at Arad McCutchan Stadium on Thursday night, as the Purple Aces will host traditional Southeastern Conference power Vanderbilt.  Kick-off is set for 7:05 p.m. and Thursday's match can be seen live on ESPN+.

Evansville is coming off of a 7-5-7 regular-season in 2021 which saw the Purple Aces advance to the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament final.  UE returns 21 players from a year ago, led by Preseason All-MVC fifth-year senior forward Emily Ormson (Folsom, Calif./Vista Del Lago HS).  Ormson earned first-team all-Valley honors in 2021 after leading UE with seven goals and 16 total points.

UE's defense will be anchored by 2021 honorable mention all-MVC defenders Emilie Hill (Franklin, Ind./Franklin Community) and Rachel Rosborough (Mt. Brydges, Ontario, Canada).  Joining the mix for UE is a group of ten talented newcomers highlighted by Evansville natives Ryleigh Anslinger (Memorial HS) and Kaylee Woosley (North HS). 

Vanderbilt, meanwhile, is coming of an 8-8-3 season a year ago in which the Commodores finished second in the SEC East with a 5-4-1 conference mark.  Vanderbilt returns two-thirds of its 2021 team this year, led by first-team All-SEC and All-Southeast Region forward Raegan Kelley, who paced the Commodores in both goals (eight) and points (19).  Fellow All-Southeast Region defender Maya Antoine helps key a stout Commodore defense which allowed the fewest goals in SEC play a year ago.

"Vanderbilt will obviously test us," said UE head coach Chris Pfau.  "They are a very well-coached team and will challenge us in a lot of areas.  I like playing teams like this though because it will only make you better in the long run.  I want our program to be able to compete against the very best, and to do that, you have to test yourself.

"I think that we learned a lot in our exhibition against Saint Louis, and I have really liked the effort in training this week.  We just need to keep working hard and keep improving.  This team has a lot of potential, but it is a process, and we just need to keep focusing on getting better each and every time that we step onto the field."

Overall, Evansville will play nine regular-season matches at home this year, and season tickets are currently available for just $45.  A combined UE women's and men's soccer season pass is also available for $70, which includes access to 18 regular-season home matches.