Evansville Clinches #2 seed in MVC Tournament with 1-0 Win

The Purple Aces have earned a bye, will play the winner of Missouri State/UNI on Nov. 6

 The University of Evansville women’s soccer team (5-10-2, 3-2-1 Missouri Valley Conference) won 1-0 at home over Missouri State (9-6-1, 3-3 MVC) on Thursday night, clinching the #2 seed and a bye in the upcoming MVC Tournament (Nov. 6, 8 at UE).

The Evansville victory guarantees the Purple Aces a spot in the MVC Semifinals (Friday, Nov. 6 at 6:06 p.m.) playing the winner of #3 Missouri State and #6 UNI.

“I am extremely happy for and proud of our team tonight,” said Evansville head women’s soccer coach Krista McKendree. “They battled hard for the full 90 and were committed to getting the result for each other.”

UE went ahead in the 22^nd minute when the Purple Aces earned a penalty kick and senior midfielder Allie Arguello converted the opportunity for the 1-0 advantage.

Evansville maintained the lead into halftime and withstood a number of second half attempts from Missouri State.

The Bears put all four of their second half shots on frame, but each one was saved by UE junior goalkeeper Whitney Biggs. The Bloomington, Ind. native made back to back saves in the 62^nd and 63^rd minutes, and turned away an Erin Stewart shot with just four seconds left to secure the Aces win.

“I think that everyone that stepped on the field played with great intensity and grit,” added Biggs. “We fought for the entire 90 minutes. It’s a great feeling getting this win and having the next week to recover and prepare for the tournament. I’m really proud of everyone tonight and their amazing effort.”

The MVC Tournament will be held at Arad McCutchan Stadium with a pair of Semifinal contests on Friday, Nov. 6 and the Championship match on Sunday, Nov. 8.

The semifinals start with #1 Drake and the winner of #4 Illinois State and #5 Loyola at 3:36 p.m. The opening match will be followed by #2 Evansville and either Missouri State or UNI at 6:06 p.m.