EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville women's soccer team will kick off an important two-game road trip to Iowa on Thursday afternoon when the Purple Aces travel to Cedar Falls, Iowa to battle the University of Northern Iowa Panthers. Kick-off is set for 3 p.m. and Thursday's game can be seen live on ESPN+.
Evansville will enter Thursday's match in sixth place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings with a 1-0-5 conference mark and 1-3-8 overall record. The Purple Aces have been unbeaten in the last seven matches to remain one of two unbeaten teams in the Valley, alongside preseason favorite Missouri State. While UE is in sixth, the Purple Aces are just five points behind the league-leader, and just two points out of fourth place entering Thursday's action.
The Purple Aces extended their unbeaten streak to seven matches on Sunday with a 1-0 victory over UIC. Sophomore defender Kaylee Woosley (Evansville, Ind./North) scored on a free kick in the 86th minute, and the Purple Aces' defense combined with senior goalkeeper Myia Danek (Laingsburg, Mich./Laingsburg) to post UE's fifth shutout of the season for the win. Woosley was named the MVC's Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday, and has recorded a point in three-straight matches, as she assisted on UE's match-tying goals against Southern Illinois and Belmont.
UNI will enter Thursday's match in second place in the MVC with a 4-2 conference record and 11-2-1 overall mark. The Panthers entered the week ranked tenth in the United Soccer Coaches' Midwest Ranking. UNI bounced back from a 4-1 loss at Murray State on Sunday with a 1-0 victory at Belmont thanks to redshirt sophomore Olivia Knoepfle's sixth goal of the season in the tenth minute. Knoepfle leads the MVC in scoring this year with 17 points (six goals, five assists), and she is tied with teammate Macy Smith for the team-lead with six goals. Overall, the Panthers lead the MVC in scoring at 2.43 goals per match.
All-time, Evansville has controlled the series against UNI, 16-5-4, and the Purple Aces are currently unbeaten in the last five series meetings with UNI. UE rallied for a 2-2 tie against UNI last year at home, as former Purple Ace Emily Ormson scored in the 88th minute to secure the final score line.
