ST.LOUIS – University of Evansville sophomore goalkeeper Michal Mroz (Elk Grove, Ill./Elk Grove) earned his second MVC Defensive Player of the Week award in the last four weeks on Tuesday afternoon, the league office announced. Mroz earns the award after posting 12 saves in wins over Louisville and Northern Illinois, including a season-high 10 saves in the win over the Huskies to help Evansville clinch a share of their first regular season conference title since 1991.

On Monday at Louisville, Mroz made two saves to help his team to a 3-1 win. The win was Evansville’s first over a power conference opponent since 2013 and the first over the Cardinals in Louisville since 1991. Mroz continued to help the Aces make history on Friday with one of the best performances of his career, stopping 10 shots for his sixth clean sheet of the year. In six MVC matches this season, Mroz has recorded four shutouts and allowed only three goals.

Mroz ranks among both MVC and national leaders in multiple categories, ranking third in the MVC and 44th in the country in goals against average at .882 and is second in the MVC and 39th nationally with six shutouts. The Aces’ keeper has been especially stout in conference play, maintaining a league-best .50 goals against average. Mroz also paces the conference in shutouts (4) and save percentage (.855) against MVC opposition.

Evansville wraps up the regular season on Wednesday, traveling to Nashville to take on Belmont. With a win or tie, Evansville would clinch the MVC regular season title outright. Kick-off is set for 6 PM.

2025 SIAC All Conference Girls Soccer Team

2025 SIAC All Conference Boys Soccer Team

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – After clinching a share of their first regular season conference title in 34 years on Friday, the University of Evansville men’s soccer team aims to clinch the outright MVC regular season title on Wednesday as they take on Belmont. With a win or tie, the Purple Aces will end the regular season alone atop the conference table and secure the number one seed for the MVC Tournament. Kick-off from E.S. Rose Park in Nashville is set for 6 PM.

Last Time Out
For the first time since 1991, the University of Evansville men’s soccer team clinched a share of a regular season conference title, taking down Northern Illinois by a score of 1-0 on Friday night at Arad McCutchan Stadium. The regular season title is Evansville’s first as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference.

Michal Mroz (Elk Grove, Ill./Elk Grove) and Nate Roberts (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman) carried the day for the Purple Aces, as Mroz notched a season-high 10 saves to post his sixth clean sheet of the season, while Roberts netted the game-winner with his first career goal in the 58th minute.

Northern Illinois dominated the scoring chances in the first half, tallying 10 shots to the Aces’ five, but Mroz held strong with six saves to keep the match scoreless heading into halftime. Mroz made three saves in the first 10 and a half minutes of play before making two more saves in the 25th minute.

Tancredi Fadda (Monza, Italy/University of Milan) saw the Aces’ best scoring chance of the first half in the first 40th minute, but his shot was saved to keep it 0-0 going to half.

Mroz made two more saves to begin the second half, coming up with stops in the 47th and 56th minutes to keep his clean sheet in tact.

In the 58th minute, Roberts struck for the night’s first goal, collecting a blocked shot near the top of the box and firing a shot past a diving keeper and into the bottom right corner.

From there, the Aces defense worked to keep the Huskies off the board, withstanding six NIU shots to post a shutout.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. –  University of Southern Indiana Women’s Basketball opened the 2025-26 season Monday night at Liberty Arena, home of the Screaming Eagles, with an 85-45 victory against Franklin College.
 
USI Women’s Basketball (1-0) got stronger as Monday’s game went on, allowing its defense to turn into offense. The Screaming Eagles shot over 50 percent from the floor (32-63) while holding Franklin to just over 35 percent shooting (16-45). USI forced Franklin into 34 turnovers, which led to 46 points for the Eagles. USI also had 46 points in the paint compared to only 12 for Franklin. The Screaming Eagles received 29 bench points on Monday. USI was plus nine (38-29) on the boards.
 
Individually, junior forward Chloe Gannon tallied a game-high 17 points on 8-12 shooting with four rebounds in 31 minutes. Junior guard Shannon Blacher netted a career-high 15 points in her USI debut, going 5-8 from the floor with five rebounds and a career-best seven steals. Junior guard Sophia Loden totaled 11 points, six rebounds, five assists, and five steals. Junior forward Amiyah Buchanan had 10 points with four rebounds and a career-high four blocks.
 
Gannon scored the first basket of the 2025-26 season a minute into Monday’s contest. After Franklin grabbed a two-possession lead over the next couple of minutes, Gannon helped USI come back and take a 9-8 lead by the midway point of the opening quarter. The two sides battled for the remainder of the first quarter, with the score tied at 19 at the end of the first 10 minutes.
 
In the second period, a couple of threes by Loden and Blacher helped catapult the Screaming Eagles to a 10-0 run and a 29-19 lead. As the Grizzlies tried to respond, a three-point play by Gannon at the 3:16 mark of the second quarter pushed the Eagles’ advantage to a dozen, 36-24, as Gannon crossed into double figures for the game. Blacher also reached double digits later in the period to extend USI’s lead to 18, its largest lead of the first half. The Screaming Eagles went into halftime ahead 44-27.
 
While Franklin tried to cut into USI’s lead in the early going of the third quarter, the Screaming Eagles continued to get stronger as the game went along. Loden was aggressive, getting to the basket and converting at the foul line. Loden eclipsed double figures with a pair of free throws at the six-minute mark of the third, giving USI a 51-35 lead. A minute later, the Eagles’ margin swelled to 21 on a bucket from Buchanan. Freshman guard Lily Graves had a strong showing in the third with seven points, aiding USI to carry a 67-41 lead into the fourth quarter.
 
The Screaming Eagles continued to roll in the fourth quarter. Blacher drained another three, and Buchanan knocked down a jumper to reach 10 points in the game. Gannon scored another bucket to reach her game-high 17 points. Down the stretch of the fourth frame, USI’s lead reached as big as 42 points for the team’s largest lead of the night.
 
The Screaming Eagles will be back home Friday at 5 p.m. for the front end of a USI Basketball doubleheader at Liberty Arena. USI Women’s Basketball will host Murray State University. The game can also be seen with a subscription to ESPN+ and heard on The Spin 95.7 FM and ESPN WREF 97.7 FM.
 
USI Basketball Tailgate planned for Friday
 
To celebrate the beginning of the 2025-26 season, a First Friday Tailgate for the USI community and Screaming Eagles fans will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. Friday, November 7, in Parking Lot P (behind the Screaming Eagles Complex). After the tailgate, USI Women’s and Men’s Basketball will tip off against Murray State and Virginia Military Institute, respectively. Women’s game starts at 5 p.m. with the men’s game beginning at 7:30 p.m. Purchase your tickets online or at the gate!
 
Sponsored by the Center for Campus Life, Housing and Residence Life, and the USI Foundation, the tailgate will feature food, music by DJ Brash, free giveaways, and activities including inflatables, putt-putt, games, and more. There will also be a beer garden for fans 21 years and older (ID required to enter; cash and card accepted).