UE men’s soccer takes the Mayor’s Cup in 4-0 win over Southern Indiana

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The Purple Aces pick up their first road win of the season
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – It was an offensive explosion on Saturday night for the University of Evansville men’s soccer in their first Mayor’s Cup win of the series.

In an emotional night for senior forward Kai Phillip, he led the Purple Aces offense with two goals and four shots in their 4-0 route of the Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles. Midfielders Ola Arntsen and Carlos Barcia added goals to the score sheet while defender Tobias Bak had his second assist of the year. Freshman midfielder David Hernandez had his first collegiate point in an assist on Phillip’s final goal of the evening.

“It’s always nice to beat a crosstown rival,” said Head Coach Robbe Tarver following the win. “Especially on the back of a tough week to get the momentum back and get us back in the win column was huge. It’s only 15 minutes down the road, but its still a road win, which we talk a lot about being good on the road. I thought we were better in the bigger moments of the game when we needed to score and when we needed to defend our box. We did that well obviously scoring four goals and having a shutout But at the same time I think the scoreline is not really indicative of the game. I think it was a little bit closer than that and they had a couple of good chances that we were able to stop. And we were able to capitalize on a couple of mistakes.”

It was a close battle early on in the first half as the two teams found their footing in front of a record-setting crowd at Strassweg Field. The tide turned in UE’s favor in the 29th minute as Phillip found the net for the first time on a lone break down the left side of the field. The senior buried the ball in the bottom center of the goal, sparking an offensive surge for Evansville. In the first half, the Aces launched seven shots and added a second goal in the 34th minute from Arntsen off a corner kick rebound.

The offensive rush continued in the second half with nine additional shots and two more goals. Barcia scored his first goal of the season in the 52nd minute off a cross from Bak on the right side. The graduate midfielder positioned himself in the center of the penalty arc, putting the ball right in the bottom left corner. The Aces final goal of the game was Phillip’s second in the 61st minute on a corner kick from Hernandez. Phillip got his head on the corner feed, sealing the win for UE.

Evansville returns home to Arad McCutchan Stadium for a midweek matchup with the Lindenwood Lions. The Aces hope to build their first win streak of 2023 in the second meeting between the two programs. Kick-off for the match on Wednesday, Sept. 13 is set for 7 p.m. 

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