EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville women's soccer team makes the trek to Iowa this week, taking on Northern Iowa and first-place Drake for two crucial MVC matches. With three regular season matches remaining, the Purple Aces look to remain in the MVC Tournament field and currently hold the sixth and final tournament spot. Evansville begins the trip on Thursday, taking on UNI at 2 PM.
Last Time Out
Despite holding a 1-0 lead at halftime, Evansville dropped Sunday's contest at Murray State by a score of 3-2. The Racers scored three times in the first 16 minutes of the second half to pull away.
Murray State controlled things in the early going, tallying six shots in the first 15 and a half minutes of play. However, the Evansville defense held strong and did not allow the Racers to put a shot on goal.
The Evansville attack got going beginning in the 17
th minute, earning three corner kicks in the span of four minutes. In the 23
rd minute, Brielle LaBerge (Cumming, Ga./Forsyth Central) won a ball along the sideline in the midfield to create a scoring chance for the Purple Aces. LaBerge then sent a through ball into the left side of the box for Taylor Wehrer (Las Vegas. Nev. Desert Oasis), who passed to a streaking Taylor Johnson (Evansville, Ind./Reitz) on the far post for a tap-in goal. The goal was Johnson's third of the season and gave Evansville a 1-0 lead.
The Purple Aces' 1-0 lead would hold heading into the halftime break, but the Racers jumped early in the second half. Murray State evened things up at one in the 48
th minute before earning a penalty kick in the 50
th minute. However, Evansville keeper Allie Lammers (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) was up to the task, diving to her right to make the stop.
Just 15 seconds later, the Racers found the back of the net once again to take their first lead of the match. Murray State scored once again in the 62
nd minute, extending their lead to 3-1.
Evansville would not go down without a fight, though, putting four shots on goal before Paige Radel (Metamora, Ohio/Evergreen) scored her first goal of the season in the 83
rd minute. After shots by Ella McAndrew (Greendale, Ind./Lawrenceburg) and Kathryn Tyler (Dallas, Texas/Liberty Christian) were saved by the Murray State keeper, Radel collected a loose ball in front of the goal and found the back of the net with a right-footed shot to bring the match within one.
However, the Aces were unable to find the equalizer in the final seven minutes as the Racers took a 3-2 win.
Series History
Thursday marks the 25h all-time meeting between Evansville and Northern Iowa. The Purple Aces lead the all-time series 14-7-3, but the Panthers have taken the last two meetings. Evansville is looking for their first win in the series since defeating UNI in Cedar Falls in 2021.
Scouting Northern Iowa
Northern Iowa brings a 4-6-3 overall record in Sunday's match and sits in ninth place in the MVC standings with five points. Most recently, UNI lost to in-state rival Drake on Saturday by a score fo 1-0.
Follow Along
Thursday's match will be streamed live on ESPN+. Live stats are available at GoPurpleAces.com.
