Despite a flurry of chances late, the University of Evansville men’s soccer team was unable to find an equalizer as the Aces fell to Drake, 1-0, on Saturday evening at Arad McCutchan Stadium.
“It’s a cruel game, the sport of soccer. They had one shot in the second half and they scored. We had two off the post, three or four saved off the line and missed a penalty kick,” said Aces men’s soccer head coach Marshall Ray. “It wasn’t for a lack of effort or a lack of ability to create chances we just didn’t finish the chances we got. We were a bit unlucky and they finished the one chance they had. I have to give them credit and Caden (McCullough) had a great game this evening in goal for them.
Senior midfielders Ian McGrath and Arlick Ntabana led the Aces with three shots each. In goal, senior Matthew Keller made a pair of saves, allowing one goal. For the Bulldogs, Alex Peterson scored the lone goal in the match, while Antonio Sanchez and Leroy Enzugusi each had a pair of shots.
The first half passed without much event as the two sides combined for just five goals in the opening half.
Evansville looked poised to find its breakthrough in the 68th minute as the Aces fired three shots on-goal that were either blocked or saved.
In the 80th minute, Drake scored after a scrum in the box as the ball fell to the feet of Peterson, who finished it into the back of the net. The Aces had a pair of chances to equalize in the final five minutes. After a foul in the box, McGrath stepped to the spot for a penalty kick that was saved by Bulldog goalkeeper Caden McCullough.
With the clock ticking under 10 seconds, freshman Filip Johansson took one final shot from just inside the box that curled towards goal and just glanced off the post and out as the horn sounded.
In the match, Evansville out-shot Drake, 14-6, while the Bulldogs held a 4-2 advantage on corner kicks.
The Aces wrap-up a three-match homestand on Tuesday at 7 p.m. against Northern Kentucky as Evansville hosts its Senior Night as well as Trick-or-Treat with the Aces.
