The Purple Aces keep their perfect season intact with their third win
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The Mayor’s Cup will stay on the east side of Evansville as the University of Evansville men’s soccer team won against Southern Indiana on Sunday night.
Forward Nacho Diaz Barragan (Almeria, Spain) scored his second brace of the year to lead the Purple Aces to a 3-1 victory over USI. Despite falling behind early in the match, UE rallied for three straight goals to keep the Mayor’s Cup. Graduate forward Sami Owusu (Denver, Colo. / Dayton) scored his first goal as an Ace, while defender Nacho Garcia (Zaragoza, Spain) and midfielder Jacopo Fedrizzi (Giulia, Italy) picked up their first assists of the season.
“It always feels good to win and to win the first one of the season at home,” says Head Coach Robbe Tarver. “And it’s against a team that’s really important to beat because they’re our crosstown rival. So to do that at home and to be 3-0 is an awesome feeling. And I think we’ve put ourselves in a really good position to start the season this year.”
Evansville began the match with an up-tempo offense, challenging the Screaming Eagles with three shots in the first 15 minutes. But it would be USI that found the back of the net first in the 17th minute on a shot at the top of the box that just squeaked past freshman goalkeeper Michal Mroz (Elk Grove, Ill. / Elk Grove HS). The Screaming Eagles wouldn’t lead for long as the Aces found the equalizer in the 23rd minute off a corner kick from Fedrizzi.
After Fedrizzi’s initial kick, Garcia rose to head the ball to the left side of the net. Diaz Barragan then completed the attack with his own header that sailed into the far left side of the net. UE scored again less than 10 minutes later as a pass from the left side of the backline from Diaz Barragan found Owusu on the left side of the penalty box. The left-footed shot from Owusu rocketed past USI’s goalkeeper into the middle of the net.
Evansville’s offense continued to press to end the first half, tallying three more shots in the final 12 minutes of play. Things began to get chippy in the second half as both teams picked up yellow cards and several fouls in the first part of the half. For the first 15 minutes, the two squads matched each other in shots. But the Aces offense began to break away in the final 25 minutes of the match.
UE sealed the win with a third and final goal in the 83rd minute. Diaz Barragan scored his fifth goal of the season off a cross at the top right of the box from fifth-year defender Tobias Bak (Taastrup, Denmark). Tapping the goal in with his left foot on the far left side of the net, Diaz Barragan took the Valley lead for goals scored this season. Evansville closed down the game with three more shots and a corner kick in the final six minutes for its third win of the year.
The Aces combined for 20 shots on Sunday, a number not seen in a match from UE since 2021. Bak led the way in shots with four while Diaz Barragan, Owusu, midfielder Jose Vivas (Teruel, Spain), and winger Auden Engen Vik (Trondheim, Norway) had three each. Mroz made two saves in the win to help Evansville’s back line.
The Aces continue a brief two-game homestand with a match against Eastern Illinois on Wednesday, September 4th. Kickoff from Arad McCutchan Stadium is set for 7 p.m.
