The Purple Aces picked up their first win over a nationally ranked team since 2018
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – It took almost two overtime periods, but the University of Evansville men’s soccer triumphed over the Western Michigan Broncos with a 2-1 victory in the MVC Tournament Quarterfinals.
The Purple Aces made the most of the moment in their first postseason match as they took down Western Michigan on their home field Sunday morning. UE scored twice in 108 minutes of action to hand the 23rd ranked Broncos their first loss at WMU Soccer Complex in 26 matches. Evansville was led by senior forward Kai Phillip (Diego Martin, Trinidad and Tobago) with one goal, five shots, and three chances on net. Freshman defender Martin Wurschmidt (Fram, Norway) had the golden game winning goal for the Aces in the 108th minute for his second score of the season.
“I’m just a proud coach,” said Head Coach Robbe Tarver after the win. “These guys have worked so hard to set a new standard for the program. To go down late in the second half at a place like WMU where they haven’t lost since 2022 and responding how we did shows the guts these guys have. We’re happy to have more time together this season.”
With a 10 a.m. central kickoff time it was a slow first half for both sides. UE registered the first shot of the match as senior midfielder Jose Vivas (Teruel, Spain) attempt went wide left in the sixth minute. But Western Michigan countered with back-to-back shots while also frustrating Evansville into two yellow cards. It would stay an even match through the first 45 as both teams had five shots with two on goal.
Things picked up in the second half of the match as again the two teams took the same number of shots with eight each. Four shots were taken in the first 10 minutes of the second as freshman goalkeeper Michal Mroz (Elk Grove, Ill. / Elk Grove HS) made his third save of the match. It’d be another 10 minutes before another shot was registered by Phillip. But it was the Broncos who found the back of the net in the 74th minute.
WMU wouldn’t lead for long though as the Aces found the equalizer in the 79th minute. Phillip recorded another shot in the 77th minute that went wide before he scored his third goal of 2024 only two minutes later. Vivas brought the ball up into the 18 on the right side and crossed up to sophomore winger Auden Engen Vik (Trondheim, Norway) just outside the penalty area. Engen Vik took a cross through the box that found Phillip at the six where he headed the ball past the Broncos goalkeeper.
In the final 11 minutes of regulation both teams fought to find the winning goal. UE had the only two shots on goal in that time from graduate defender Tobias Bak (Taastrup, Denmark) and senior forward Nacho Diaz Barragan (Almeria, Spain). With neither team able to score the match moved into the first 10-minute overtime session.
It took almost three minutes for the first shot of overtime and almost four minutes for Evansville’s first. None other than Phillip had the OT look for the Aces in the 94th minute at the top of the penalty arc that was saved by Western Michigan. Spurred by his look at the end of the second half, Diaz Barragan controlled on offense for UE the rest of the first overtime. He had a close wide look in the 96th minute and a look that was barely saved by the Broncos in the 99th. Evansville headed into the second overtime period with plenty of momentum to try and extend its season another game.
The start of the second overtime period was all defense as the Aces mostly kept WMU out of the offensive zone. UE had a look in the 105th minute from Wurschmidt just inside the penalty area that sailed high. But it was only two minutes later that Evansville struck gold starting with a corner kick. In the 108th minute Vivas took the left corner launching the ball to the far-right side of the six. Wurschmidt was the first player to make contact, using his left foot to launch the ball into the left half of the net to win the match.
With the win the Aces advanced to the MVC Semifinals round hosted by the Missouri State Bears. UE will know its next opponent later on Sunday evening after the conclusion of the second quarterfinals match in Bowling Green. This is the third time in four seasons that Evansville has made it to at least the semifinal round of the MVC Tournament.
