EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville men's soccer team kicks off the 2026 season on Thursday, traveling to Louisville to battle the Bellarmine Knights. Kick-off is set for 6 PM Central.
Building on Recent Success
- Evansville has enjoyed plenty of success over the past two seasons under Robbe Tarver, posting an 18-12-11 record
- In 2024, the Purple Aces made a Cinderella run through the MVC Tournament, defeating two ranked opponents on the road before besting Bowling Green in overtime to make their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 1996
- In 2025, Tarver and his staff earned the conference's staff of the year award after helping restore the Evansville men's soccer program to the top of the conference for the first time in 34 years
- The Aces earned a share of the MVC regular season title and secured the top seed in the MVC Tournament for the first time since joining the conference in 1994
- Holding a 3-1-3 record in MVC play, the Purple Aces' conference winning percentage of .643 was the program's best mark in 11 years
- In the MVC Tournament, the Aces defeated UIC in the semifinals before falling to Western Michigan in the title match
Spectacular Sophomores
- Evansville returns 10 sophomores from last year, a number of whom made a big impact in their first season of collegiate soccer
- The group is led by Devin Shepherd, who landed on the MVC All-Freshman Team and finished the season ranked 51st in Top Drawer Soccer's Freshman Top 100
- Shepherd started all 20 matches for the Purple Aces in his first collegiate season
- Shepherd finished the season second on the team in goals (5) and points (12) and notched a brace against Xavier for the first brace by a UE freshman in three years.
- Chase Ricker started 13 games and appeared in all 20 in the midfield last season, playing a total of 1089 minutes
- Ricker scored a goal and added a team-high four assists for a total of six points on the season
- Ben Zec also made an impact as a freshman, playing in 16 games with two starts, tallying 434 minutes
- Zec notched three assists on the year, the second-most on the team
New Faces
- Evansville welcomes 18 newcomers to their roster in 2026
- Eight freshmen will make their collegiate debuts this season, with players coming from California, Iowa, Colorado, Wisconsin, Missouri and Canada
- Four players arrive on campus as Division I transfers - Leon Suzuki (Cal Baptist), Etienne Ravelli (Creighton), Fisher Nadeau (Saint Francis (PA)), and Patrik Fagan (UAB)
Series History
- Thursday marks the sixth all-time meeting between Evansville and Bellarmine
- The series is level at 1-1-3, including a 1-1 draw in Evansville last season
- This marks the sixth consecutive season that the Aces and Knights have opened the season against each other
Scouting Bellarmine
- Bellarmine finished the 2025 season with an 8-4-5 record and a 3-1-2 mark in ASUN play
- The Knights reached the championship game in the ASUN Tournament, falling to North Florida in overtime
Follow Along
Thursday's match with be streamed live on ESPN+. Live stats are available at GoPurpleAces.com.
