EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Entering the MVC Tournament with the top seed for the first time in program history, the University of Evansville men's soccer team will host an MVC Tournament semifinal match at Arad McCutchan Stadium for the first time since 1995 on Wednesday, taking on fifth-seeded UIC. Kick-off is set for 6 PM.
MVC Awards
After a regular season that saw the Purple Aces earn a share of their first regular season conference title since 1991, Evansville was well-represented on the Missouri Valley Conference All-Conference teams, netting six All-Conference selections and four specialty awards per Sunday morning's release from the league office.
Head Coach Robbe Tarver and assistants Matt Melzer, Orry Killam and Evan Dekker have been named the MVC's Coaching Staff of the Year, marking the first time Evansville has taken home the award. Sophomore goalkeeper Michal Mroz (Elk Grove, Ill./Elk Grove) also made history, earning the program's first MVC Goalkeeper of the Year Award, while fellow sophomore Martin Wurschmidt (Stevern, Norway/Thor Heyerdahl VGS) takes home Evansville's third-ever MVC Defensive Player of the Year award and the first since Robby Lynch in 2010. After posting one of the most prolific sophomore campaigns in program history, Andres Escudero (San Sebastián de los Reyes, Spain/IES Joan Miro) becomes the fourth Purple Ace to be named MVC Freshman of the Year since 2020 and fourth in the last eight seasons.
In addition to Mroz, Wurschmidt and Escudero landing on the All-MVC First Team, Nacho Diaz-Caneja (Coruña, Spain/Oregon State) earned a spot on the All-MVC Second Team, while Escudero and Devin Shepherd (Denver, Colo./Arapahoe HS) were selected to the league's All-Freshman Team.
Last Time Out
In the final match of the regular season, Evansville suffered their first MVC loss of the campaign, falling to Belmont by a score of 2-1. Despite the loss, Evansville enters the MVC Tournament with the number one seed for the first time in program history.
Neither team was able to put a shot on goal in the opening stages of action, with the Aces tallying one shot and the Bruins putting up two.
In the 28
th minute of action, star freshman Andres Escudero (San Sebastián de los Reyes, Spain/IES Joan Miro) created a scoring chance on his own, taking a thrown in near the midfield line and battling Belmont defenders to make a long run. Just outside the penalty area, Escudero took a left-footed shot that went past the Belmont keeper, off the crossbar and into the back of the net. The goal was Escudero's ninth of the season, the most by a UE freshman since MVC Freshman of the Year Nacho Diaz Barragan scored nine in 2022, and gave the Aces a 1-0 lead.
Escudero nearly extended the lead in the 34
th minute with another good scoring chance, but his shot was saved.
Belmont was able to find the equalizer before halftime, scoring in the 39
th minute to make it a 1-1 game heading into halftime.
Escudero threatened to score once again in the 69
th minute, hitting the post with a shot, but was left empty-handed. Less than a minute later, Belmont flipped the script, finding the back of the net to take their first lead of the night.
For the final 20 minutes, Evansville fought to find the equalizer, including Escudero nearly scoring once again with another shot off the post. However, the Aces were unable to find the tying goal as the Bruins earned a 2-1 win.
Series History
Wednesday marks the fifth all-time meeting between Evansville and UIC and the first-ever meeting in the MVC Tournament. UIC leads the series, 2-1-1, but the Purple Aces won the only prior meeting in Evansville. Earlier this season, the two sides played to a 2-2 draw in Chicago, with Andres Escudero netting the equalizer in the 85th minute for the Purple Aces.
Scouting UIC
UIC enters Wednesday's match with a 10-2-5 record and a 2-1-4 mark in MVC play. UIC defeated Belmont by a score of 1-0 in Sunday's quarterfinal to advance to Wednesday night. The Flames are led by MVC Player of the Year Edouard Nys, who ranks second in the country with 15 goals.
Follow Along
Wednesday's match will be streamed live on ESPN+. Live stats are available at GoPurpleAces.com.
