UE men’s soccer welcomes Indiana for in-state clash on Tuesday night

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WFIE) – A pair of teams with a long history together meet on Tuesday night at 6 PM when the University of Evansville men’s soccer team hosts the Indiana Hoosiers for a non-conference showdown at Arad McCutchan Stadium in Evansville.

The 40th all-time meeting between the two storied programs sees Evansville in search of its first win over the Hoosiers since Nov. 25, 1990 in the NCAA Tournament that sent the Aces to their second Final Four in program history. The Bloomington-based side enters Tuesday midweek matchup with a 7-3-4 overall record, but has only lost to teams who were ranked first, second, and 22nd nationally at the time of competition. Evansville’s three losses came to similar opponents with the Aces falling to current No. 9 Xavier, No. 11 Louisville, and No. 19 Missouri State.

Tuesday night is Boy Scout Night at Arad McCutchan Stadium with local Boy Scout troops attending the match and presenting the colors for the National Anthem. Fans will also be treated to a $5.50 meal deal at the concession stand, featuring a hot dog, drink, and chips.

Evansville jumped a spot to eighth in the United Soccer Coaches’ West Region rankings following a 3-0 dismantling of regionally-ranked Drake on Sunday afternoon. Freshman Nacho Diaz found the net twice more in the win, pushing his season total to nine goals, the most in the Missouri Valley Conference and 12th-most in the nation. By himself, Diaz has outscored three NCAA Division I teams, with Columbia having scored just seven times in 12 games this season and Hartford and North Florida only finding the back of the net six times in 12 matches in 2022.

In goal, graduate Alex Vidizzoni has been the unsung hero of the Aces season, racking-up five shutouts. Vidizzoni’s five clean sheets place him second in The Valley in the category and 30th in the nation all the while earning him a spot in the top 25 in the nation with a .733 goals-against average. If the season ended today, Vidizzoni’s goals-against average would rank as the seventh-best in UE history.

Despite Tuesday’s contest being a non-conference clash, the Aces eyes are still squarely focused on conference play. With two MVC contests remaining, Evansville sits in third with 11 points, just four behind conference-leader Missouri State and one back of second-place Drake, while maintaining a two-point advantage over Belmont with a game in hand. The Valley’s regular season champion and top seed in the MVC Championship gets a first round bye, while seeds 2, 3 and 4 will host a first round matchup.

Courtesy: University of Evansville Athletics

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