The Purple Aces head to Cownie Soccer Complex for their first Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) game of the season to play the Drake Bulldogs. In their 2022 season meeting, UE held Drake scoreless in a big 3-0 win at Arad McCutchan Stadium with Kai Phillip and Nacho Diaz Barragan scoring for Evansville. The Aces will hope for a similar result on the road Saturday evening.
Evansville returned home to Arad McCutchan Stadium on Wednesday night after over two weeks away. The Aces took a point out of a tough contest with Lindenwood in a 2-2 tie in their brief return home. Senior forward Kai Phillip continues to be the offensive leader for UE in the month of September. Phillip added his fourth goal of the season on Wednesday night to lead Evansville in goals and points.
It will be a new look MVC for Evansville in men’s soccer. After the Mid-American Conference discontinued sponsoring men’s soccer in 2022, the MVC added former MAC members Western Michigan, Bowling Green, and Northern Illinois as affiliate members for 2023. Beginning conference play with a familiar opponent in Drake sets up the Aces for an exciting and new MVC men’s soccer landscape.
Drake comes into Saturday’s game with a 1-4-1 record and their lone win coming against Western Illinois. The Bulldogs ended their opening non-conference stretch with a 2-2 draw against Omaha on Wednesday afternoon. On offense, Drake is led by midfielder Damian Segura with seven points from two goals and three assists. The Bulldogs have had two goalkeepers split time in net in Kevin Qi and Tommy Williams with 17 combined saves between the two. Qi earned the only win for Drake versus WIU.
