EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Evansville women's soccer head coach Chris Pfau announced a challenging 2023 schedule for his side on Monday, which includes home matches against regional foes Bellarmine, Western Kentucky, and Indiana in non-conference play.
"We are excited to get started just over a month from now," said Pfau. "Any time that you put together a schedule, you want to be able to challenge yourself in non-conference to be able to be ready for the challenges of the Missouri Valley Conference. I think that our schedule this year does that, as we should be well-prepared for league play when it starts in mid-September."
Evansville will open the 2023 season with exhibition matches against 2022 NCAA Tournament participants SIUE (Monday, August 7 at home – 5 p.m.) and Saint Louis University (Saturday, August 12 on the road – 6 p.m.). UE will then open the season on the road on Thursday, August 17 at Mercer, which placed third in the Southern Conference with a 9-4-7 record a year ago.
UE will then travel to Cape Girardeau, Missouri a week later to renew its rivalry with Southeast Missouri State with a match at 6 p.m. on Thursday, August 24. The Purple Aces will then kick-off the home schedule in grand fashion with a contest against the Indiana Hoosiers at 7 p.m. on Sunday, August 27. It will mark the first match between the two in-state sides since 2011, and will be IU's first trip to Arad McCutchan Stadium since 2010. The match will have interesting side-stories, as UE junior forward Ryleigh Anslinger (Evansville, Ind./Memorial) started her collegiate career at IU, and Evansville freshman midfielder Ella Hamner and IU freshman midfielder Kennedy Neighbors were the Evansville Courier & Press co-Metro Players of the Year last year as teammates at Evansville Memorial High School.
"We are excited to be able to bring Indiana to Evansville for the home-opener," said Pfau. "It should be a fun night of soccer, and a great way to showcase our program to the city."
Evansville will host Bellarmine on Thursday, August 31 at 7 p.m. to wrap up the first month of the season, before beginning September with a road contest at Lipscomb on Sunday, September 3 at 6 p.m. The Bisons finished third in the ASUN Conference last year, while posting an 11-5-3 overall record.
Evansville will wrap up non-conference play with a home match against Western Kentucky on Thursday, September 7 at 6 p.m. The Hilltoppers went 7-9-3 a year ago in a very competitive Conference USA, and the match will mark the first match between the two regional rivals since 2018.
Missouri Valley Conference play will kick-off on Friday, September 15 with a trip to Illinois State. Evansville knocked off the Redbirds, 3-1, to wrap up the 2022 season. UE will then host defending MVC regular-season champion Valparaiso on Thursday, September 21 at 6 p.m. before hitting the road to close out the month with contests at Murray State (Sunday, September 24) and Southern Illinois (Thursday, September 28).
Evansville will begin the month of October with back-to-back Sunday home matches against Belmont (Sunday, October 1) and UIC (Sunday, October 8). Kick-offs both days will be at 1 p.m. The Purple Aces will then travel to Iowa for two matches against UNI (Thursday, October 12) and Drake (Sunday, October 15) before wrapping up the regular-season at home.
UE will host in-state rival Indiana State on Thursday, October 19 at 6 p.m. before battling reigning MVC Tournament champion Missouri State on Sunday, October 22 at noon to close out the regular-season. The 2023 MVC Tournament will then begin on Thursday, October 26 and run through Sunday, November 5. Sites and match times will be determined by the final MVC standings, as the higher seeds host the first round and quarterfinal matches, with the semifinals and finals being played at the site of the regular-season champion.
UE returns 22 players from last season's squad, led by third-team all-MVC defender Rachel Rosborough (Mt. Brydges, Ontario/Strathroy District CI). Evansville will add eight talented freshmen led by local standouts Ella Hamner (Evansville, Ind./Memorial) and Taylor Johnson (Evansville, Ind./Reitz), and including talented forwards Brooklyn Robinson (West Haven, Utah/Fremont) and A'Liyah Warrick (Mableton, Ga./Campbell), midfielder Ashlyn Koutsos (Cumming, Ga./West Forsyth), defenders Emily Karr (Mooresville, Ind./Center Grove) and Brinli Helms (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) and goalkeeper Elke Travis (Henderson, Nev./Faith Lutheran). Season tickets are currently available by contacting Associate Athletics Director for Revenue Generation Logan Belz by phone at 812-488-2623.
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