2024 schedule released for UE men’s soccer
The Purple Aces will play six home matches
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — The University of Evansville men’s soccer program has announced its 2024 schedule.
The 17-game regular season schedule for the Purple Aces will give them plenty of strong tests as they face six teams who appeared in the 2023 NCAA tournament. Of those six teams, one Western Michigan, made the Sweet 16, while the other, Indiana made the Elite Eight.
UE will preface the season with three preseason matches, two DI opponents who appeared in the NCAA tournament, and a perennial DIII regional power. Evansville hosts former Missouri Valley Conference-foe, SIUE, on August 10th. The Aces will renew an old Midwest Collegiate Conference rivalry with St. Louis at Robert R. Hermann Stadium on August 16th. UE finishes its preseason slate with a home match on August 19th against Hanover as part of Welcome Week for new Evansville students.
For the fourth straight season, the Aces begin the regular season at Bellarmine in Louisville, Ky. UE will be looking for its first result against the Knights since 2021 after back-to-back draws in 2022 and 2023. Evansville will stay on the road, traveling to Memphis for their first matchup in over a decade on August 25th. The Aces won their last match against the Tigers in 2011 with a 2-1 result. Memphis has had recent success, with back-to-back postseason appearances.
For their first home match of the regular season, UE will host the Mayor’s Cup against Southern Indiana on Sunday, September 1st. Evansville will celebrate its 50th Anniversary as a program Labor Day weekend. The weekend will begin with an Alumni Game on August 31st at Arad McCutchan Stadium, followed by an alumni banquet that evening. Anniversary festivities will wrap up with the latest edition of the Mayor’s Cup on Sunday. The Aces put together a decisive victory in 2023’s game with a 4-0 shutout at USI.
UE hosts one more game before hitting the road again. Evansville welcomes its second OVC opponent to Arad McCutchan Stadium on September 4th against Eastern Illinois. Evansville last played EIU in 2019, winning 1-0 at home.
The Aces play their final OVC opponent on September 6th on the road at Lindenwood. Last year’s match finished in a 2-2 draw in Evansville. UE continues its week road swing with a stop in Indianapolis on September 10th. The Aces will play Butler for the first time since 2019. The Bulldogs currently hold the all-time series record at 9-6-1.
Evansville starts conference play on September 14th by hosting the Drake Bulldogs. The Aces have won 3 out of the last 4 meetings with the Bulldogs, but Drake won last year’s match 2-1 on their home turf in Des Moines.
UE hits the road again for two weeks, traveling up I-69 to play Big Ten foe, Indiana. The Hoosiers appeared in the 2023 Elite 8 and defeated the Aces 2-0 in their last meeting. Evansville resumes conference play on the road for their first trip to Western Michigan since 1982 on September 22nd. In a hotly contested 2023 matchup, the Aces tied the eventual Sweet Sixteen Broncos 2-2 for WMU’s only conference draw of the season.
UE’s third road matchup is another team to make the 2023 postseason as Evansville faces Xavier on September 24th. The Musketeers defeated the Aces 3-1 in Evansville during their last match in the 2022 season. The fourth and final game of the road swing for UE will be a return to Valley play against Bradley on September 28th. The Aces defeated Bradley 1-0 at home last season.
After two weeks away, Evansville returns to Arad McCutchan Stadium against UIC. It will be the Flames first match as a member of the MVC in Southern Indiana after winning the Chicago matchup in 2023. Less than a week later, the Aces return to the road at Louisville as the Cardinals had another deep postseason run in 2023. Louisville bested UE 2-0 in Evansville last year in a closely contested match.
UE will play its first match in DeKalb against Northern Illinois on October 19th. Last fall, the Aces defeated the Huskies 2-0 in their first conference meeting in Evansville. UE finishes the month of October with its Senior Day game on October 25th hosting Bowling Green State. The Aces will celebrate 11 seniors in their second-to-last game at home.
Rounding out regular season play, Evansville will travel to Missouri State for the final time as MVC foes on November 1st. The Bears held on for a 2-1 win at UE in 2023 with a last-second save on All-MVC First Team forward Kai Phillip. The Aces finish conference play on November 6th at home against the Belmont Bruins. Three out of the last 4 contests between the two teams have ended in a draw, including last year’s 2-2 result.
Of the nine MVC teams, only six will make the MVC Tournament. Postseason play will begin with the quarterfinals at host sites on November 10th. The semifinals and finals will be hosted by the #1 seed and will take place on November 13th and November 16th.
