The Purple Aces first match of the 2024 season is also UE’s home opener as they welcome the Lipscomb Bison to Evansville on Thursday night. The Aces bring back 20 players from the 2023 campaign including its top four offensive performers this year. Sophomore forward Chrysta Vasquez leads the way for UE after scoring two goals in her 2023 campaign. Junior midfielder Kaylee Woosley helped lead the team in points with one goal and two assists. While senior forward Hailey Autenrieb and sophomore forward Taylor Johnson followed with three points from a goal and an assist apiece.
In a preseason poll of league head coaches, Evansville was picked to finish ninth in the Missouri Valley Conference. Missouri State landed the top spot with seven first-place votes and 116 points, closely followed by 2023 regular season champions Drake. The Aces earned 32 points in the preseason poll while UIC (3rd, 87 points), UNI (4th, 85 points), Valparaiso (5th, 83 points), and Murray State (6th, 73 points) fill out the remaining top six spots. Belmont (7th, 54 points), Indiana State (8th, 42 points), Illinois State (10th, 23 points), and Southern Illinois (11th, 22 points) round out the poll.
The Aces will look to build upon a strong defensive season in 2023. UE set a new single-season record for ties with nine draws in 17 games in 2023. Of those nine ties, four were clean sheets from goalkeeper Miya Danek. Danek returns in goal for Evansville in 2024 for her final collegiate season after making national rankings in 2023. Danek was in the Top 100 in saves per game (4.65) and total saves (79) and top five in the Valley. UE also returns All-MVC Second Team member defender Rachel Rosborough for 2024 in her fifth season.
Along with 20 returners, the Aces add 11 new players to their 2024 roster. Evansville welcomes redshirt sophomore transfer Mary McArdle, freshman Allie Lammers, Emmy Brenner, Olivia Colson, Lindley Amick, Taylor Wehrer, Olivia Mills, Anna Duncan, Maria Meade, and Brielle LaBerge.
Lipscomb comes into the start of the 2024 season picked second in the ASUN preseason poll with two players earning preseason awards. Midfielder Bella Carapazza and defender Lucy Ream both made the preseason All-ASUN Team after big seasons in 2023. Carapazza was the 2023 ASUN Freshman of the Year while Ream was named to the 2023 ASUN All-Conference Second Team. The Bison finished 2023 in the semifinals of the ASUN Tournament as the number one seed.
