EVANSVILLE, Ind. -- The University of Evansville men's soccer team will be going for its fourth-straight win on Wednesday night at Arad McCutchan Stadium.
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The Purple Aces continue to start the 2024 season strong with a third-straight win. UE was able to secure a come-from-behind win on Sunday night against Southern Indiana to keep the Mayor's Cup on the east side of Evansville for a second straight year. The Aces are one win away from matching their best start to a season since 2017 against Eastern Illinois.
The Panthers come into Wednesday's match looking for their second win of the season in their first away game of 2024. EIU is coming off a shutout loss to Purdue Fort Wayne on Thursday, only surrendering goals in the final 17 minutes of the match. The Panthers are led by freshman forward Jackson Liley who has two goals on the year, logging one against UChicago and Detroit Mercy.Â
UE is currently one of only 18 teams across Division I with a 100% win-loss-tied percentage. Evansville is also alone atop the Missouri Valley Conference standings as the only team without a loss or a tie. There are currently four schools in the Valley with three wins. The Aces also lead the MVC in scoring offense at 2.67 goals a game and in team goals against average, only letting opponents score 0.67 goals a game. Nationally this puts UE at 19th and 28th in the nation.
Senior forward Nacho Diaz Barragan continues to impress on offense with another big performance against USI. Diaz Barragan had his second brace of the year, scoring the Aces first and third goals on Sunday. He also added an assist for UE's first five-point game from an individual player since 2017. Along with leading Evansville on offense, Diaz Barragan is atop several of the MVC individual categories. The senior forward has sole possession of shot accuracy at 88.9%. He also shares the lead in multiple categories with Missouri State's Jesus Barea in goals per game (1.67), points per game (3.67), total goals (5), and total points (11).
