UE men’s soccer travels to Northern Illinois for the first time

DEKALB, ILL. — The University of Evansville men’s soccer team returns to the Missouri Valley Conference on the road this weekend.

The Purple Aces tied the Louisville Cardinals for the first time in program history on Wednesday night. The 2-2 draw against the Cardinals was also UE’s first road point in the series since a 2-0 win in 1991. Evansville was the only team to lead for 90 minutes Wednesday night. The Aces held the lead for 32 minutes while the game ended in a draw for 56 minutes.

Northern Illinois is still hoping for its first win in conference play with four games remaining in 2024. The Huskies have only had two wins this season, with wins over Mercyhust and Chicago State. Junior midfielder Jose Gomez is NIU’s offensive leader with eight points from two goals and four assists in 12 games played. However, the Huskies’ scoring leader is senior forward Kevin Kelly with three goals in 12 games. Overall, Northern Illinois has nine different scorers in 12 games.

Two UE players scored their second goals of the season in Louisville. Redshirt freshman midfielder Jacopo Fedrizzi’s (Giulia, Italy) second goal came in the 45th minute, while fifth-year senior Kai Phillip’s (Diego Martin, Trinidad and Tobago) second goal came in the 63rd minute. Evansville now has six players with multiple goals in 13 games.

Saturday’s game will be the Aces’ first game at Northern Illinois in program history. UE and NIU have only played three games in the last 10 years, with all three games taking place at Arad McCutchan Stadium. This is only the second game the two teams have met as conference opponents.