Opener set for Thursday at UE

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – In its final pair of non-conference matches, the University of Evansville volleyball team faces USI in a home-and-home series this weekend. On Thursday the Purple Aces welcome the Screaming Eagles to Meeks Family Fieldhouse for a 6 p.m. contest before the rematch takes place on Saturday at 4 p.m. inside Liberty Arena.

Recapping the Weekend

– Last weekend, Evansville hosted its home tournament going 1-2 with a victory against Western Illinois

– UE dropped a 5-set match to UAB in the tournament opener before falling by a 3-0 final in the final to Morehead State

– Sabrina Ripple was named to the All-Tournament Team after posting 1.85 kills and 0.92 blocks per set

Reaching a Milestone

– With 17 digs against UAB, Ainoah Cruz passed 1,000 for her career

– Her top effort of the weekend was a 27-dig performance in the win over Western Illinois where she added nine assists

– Cruz remains third in the MVC with her season average of 4.86 per set

– She was named the MVC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 8 after averaging 4.59 digs per set

– At the GSU Invitational, Cruz finished the weekend with an average of 5.38 digs

All-Tournament Accolade

– Sabrina Ripple averaged 1.85 kills and 0.92 blocks on her way to All-Tournament honors at UE’s home tournament

– Ripple had the top offensive showing of her career, totaling 13 kills in the win over WIU

– Highlighted by seven total blocks against PFW and WIU, Ripple is 8th in the league with her average of 1.05 blocks per set

– She has multiple blocks in each of her matches this season

– Her .287 hitting tally is 14th in the MVC

Scouting the Opposition

– USI comes into the weekend with a 2-8 record with victories over Northern Kentucky and Miami Ohio

– They were victorious in both meetings last season

EVANSVILLE, Ind.– University of Southern Indiana Men’s Soccer closed out its five-game homestand with a 3-0 loss to Belmont University Wednesday evening at Strassweg Field.
 
The Screaming Eagles conclude the homestand with a 1-4 record, with a 1-0 win over Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology on August 26. USI scored three goals in the five games, one against Rose-Hulman and two in a loss to Indiana University Indianapolis on September 6.
 
The Bruins’ potent offense was on display early, possessing the ball for the majority of the first half. USI held them off the board until the 30th minute, when they snuck a ball past junior goalkeeper Kael McGowan.
 
At the half, USI trailed only 1-0 despite the relentless Belmont pressure. The Eagles trailed in total shots, 11-4, and shots on goal, 4-1. Sophomore forward David Davila put up a team-high two shots in the first half, while freshman midfielder Nolan Stevens recorded the team’s only shot on goal. In his first start as an Eagle, McGowan tallied three saves through the first 45.
 
Belmont came out of the break firing, scoring two goals at the 59:42 and 63:49 marks of the match. The Bruins continued to dominate the possession battle, allowing the Eagles only two second-half shots, neither on goal.
 
For the game, the Eagles were outshot 18-6 from the field and 8-1 on goal. Davila led the Eagles with two shots, while Stevens recorded the only shot on goal. McGowan recorded three saves over his 68 minutes, getting replaced by freshman goalkeeper Jacob English, who held the Bruins scoreless over his 22 minutes with two saves.
 
The Eagles hit the road for the first time since the season-opener, traveling north for a matchup with former Great Lakes Valley Conference foe Purdue Fort Wayne in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on September 23. Then, on September 27, USI travels to Lynchburg, Virginia, for the Ohio Valley Conference opener with Liberty University.

DAYTON, Ohio – The University of Evansville men’s soccer team earned a strong road result on Wednesday evening, playing the Dayton Flyers to a 1-1 draw.

Evansville posted their second shutout in a row, with goalkeeper Michal Mroz (Elk Grove, Ill./Elk Grove) making a season-high five saves, including two highlight-worthy stops in the final ten minutes to preserve his second clean sheet of the year.

Despite neither side being able to put together a goal in the first half of play, Evansville controlled the pace of the game for much of the first period. Mroz made the lone save of the half in the second minute, while the Aces’ defense prevented the Flyers from putting another shot on goal for the remainder of the half. Andres Escudero (San Sebastián de los Reyes/Spain IES Joan Miro) had Evansville’s only shot of the half in the fourth minute, but the Aces could not find a goal as the score went into halftime at 0-0.

Despite a lack of scoring chances in the first half, the second half saw a plethora of opportunities for both the Aces and Flyers. Dayton began the half on the attack, tallying seven shots in the first 20 minutes of the half, but the Evansville defense held strong.

In the 70^th minute, Chase Ricker (Albuquerque, N.M. La Cueva) saw Evansville’s best chance of the night to that point, as he was able to get a foot on a loose ball in the box. However, a great save from Dayton keeper Gavin Krenecki denied UE of the night’s first goal.

Another great scoring chance for the Aces came in the 76^th minute off a dangerous corner kick from Ricker, but a header by Pablo Calvete (Ponferrada, Spain UNIR) went just wide of the post and the match remained scoreless.

Mroz made the first of two fantastic late-game saves in the 81^st minute, leaping to get a fingertip on a Dayton header and lift it over the post to deny the Flyers. Tancredi Fadda (Monza, Italy/University of Milan) had the next near scoring chance for Evansville a minute and a half later, but his shot went wide of the post as the Aces just missed the winner. In the 89^th minute, Mroz made another game-saving stop, diving to his right to make his fifth save of the night and help the Aces secure a road result.

“It’s a tough place to play,” said Head Coach Robbe Tarver. “I thought in the first half, we kind of dictated the tempo a little bit, but in the second half, they came after us. We suffered a little bit, their pressure got to us, but to get a result on the road against a team that has been to two straight NCAA Tournaments, went to the Sweet Sixteen, hosted a Sweet Sixteen match here, I’m proud of the resiliency.”

“We had a couple chances of chances to snag a winner, so I’m proud of the effort that we put forth tonight and that we got a result on the road.”

With the tie, Evansville moves to 1-2-5 on the season. The Aces return to Arad McCutchan Stadium on Tuesday for their final tune-up before the start of conference play, hosting in-state rival Butler. Kick-off is set for 6 PM.