EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville women’s soccer team won their first MVC opener since 2021 on Saturday, taking down UIC by a score of 2-1 at Arad McCutchan Stadium.
Evansville scored twice in the matter of three and a half minutes, with Brooklyn Robinson (West Haven, Utah/Fremont)scoring her first goal of the season in the 26th minute, and Ella McAndrew (Greendale, Ind./ Lawrenceburg) scoring her first career goal in the 30th minute.
UIC threatened early in the match, putting up five shots in the first 17 minutes of action. However, UE goalkeeper Allie Lammers (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) continued her strong play in goal, making two saves to keep the Flames off the board.
Evansville started the scoring in the 26th minute, with Brielle LaBerge (Cumming, Ga./Forsyth Central) sending a long ball downfield for Robinson. The junior took one touch 10 yards from the box and got a shot off right before a charging UIC keeper could get to it, finding the back of the net to put the Aces ahead.
The Aces would add to their lead shortly after when Isa Valdez made a long run with the ball before sending a through ball into the top of the box for Josie Seehafer (Inver Grove Heights, Minn./Eagan), who found McAndrew at the post to tap in the goal.
The score remained 2-0 into the halftime break and stayed that way for the first 26 minutes of the second half. However, UIC was able to cut into the lead in the 72nd minute, as Addison Carriere got the Flames on the scoreboard. The goal was the first allowed by Lammers this season, ending her scoreless streak at 387 minutes.
Following the goal, Evansville’s defense held strong for the rest of the contest to help the Aces secure the 2-1 win.
“I thought we got back to what we were doing earlier in the season,” said Head Coach Chris Pfau. “It was a good 90 minutes, I thought we fell a little bit flat in second half, but I think we were good enough to control it. For the most part, I thought it was a good game. UIC is an extremely well-coached team, a very good team, and for the most part, I’m very happy.”
“[Wining the first conference game] gives you confidence, especially when you can score goals. Hopefully it gives us confidence that we can play, getting a win against a very good UIC team. Hopefully we can build off that and continue the momentum.”
Evansville out-shot UIC 11-10 overall, including a 4-3 edge in shots on goal, with Taylor Wehrer (Las Vegas, Nev./Desert Oasis) tallying a game-high five shots. Lammers recorded two saves to improve to 4-0-1 on the season.
With the win, Evansville improves their record to 5-2-1, marking the quickest UE has reached five wins since 2013. The Aces are back in action on Thursday, traveling to Carbondale, Ill. for a showdown with Southern Illinois. Kick-off is set for 6 PM.
