EVANSVILLE, Ind. – With his team facing a 1-0 deficit with less than 15 minutes to play, Evansville freshman Andres Escudero (San Sebastián de los Reyes, Spain/IES Joan Miro) notched his second brace in three matches to power Evansville to a come from behind 2-1 win over Butler on Tuesday night at Arad McCutchan Stadium.
After Butler opened the scoring with a goal in the 77th minute, Escudero scored the equalizer in the 80th minute before delivering the winner in the 86th minute. With the brace, Escudero becomes the first Evansville freshman with multiple braces in a season since MVC Freshman of the Year Nacho Diaz Barragan in 2022.
The first half saw scoring chances for both sides, but neither side was able to convert for a goal. Escudero and Chase Ricker (Albuquerque, N.M./La Cueva HS) put shots on goal for the Aces in the 26th and 28th minutes, while Ben Zec (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) tallied shots on goal in the 34th and 36th minutes.
Action ratcheted up late in the second half, starting with a near goal by Evansville’s Devin Shepherd (Denver, Colo./Arapahoe) in the 70th minute. However, his shot went off the crossbar and the Aces were denied.
In the 76th minute, Butler broke through for the night’s first goal on a header from Sam Pitts-Eckersall.
With their backs against the wall, Evansville responded in the 80th minute. Shepherd started the chance with a long ball down to Ricker who found Zec on the right side. From there, Zec lofted a pass to Escudero near the penalty spot, where he took a touch off the left foot before beating the Butler keeper for the goal.
Less than six minutes later, the Aces struck again. Nacho Garcia (Zaragoza, Spain/UNIR) starting things this time, finding Pablo Calvete (Ponferrada, Spain/UNIR) at midfield. Calvete then delivered a beautiful through ball to a streaking Escudero, who took two touches to the top of the box before ripping a strike into the top left corner for the game-winning goal.
With Butler scrambling for the equalizer in the final minutes, Mroz made a game-saving stop for the second match in a row, leaping to the top left corner to get a hand on would-be goal to preserve the lead. From there, Evansville withstood two more Bulldogs’ shots to come out with their second win of the season.
“It was a battle,” said Head Coach Robbe Tarver. “Conceding late in the second half and then having the resiliency to bounce back and score two goals, I thought we created enough to go ahead. Happy that we battled, I think we need to keep that spirit moving forward because that’s what it takes to win in the MVC.”
“Andres is a relentless runner. He is always looking to get in behind; I think he changes the dynamic of our team with his willingness to run. Obviously, we are excited that he scored another brace and that we got the win tonight.”
Butler held a 12-11 advantage in shots, but Evansville led in shots on goal with six to the Bulldogs’ three. Mroz made three saves in goal for the Aces.
With the win, Evansville moves to 2-2-5 on the season. The Aces will be back in action on Friday to open MVC play, traveling to Bowling Green for a rematch of last season’s MVC title match. Kick-off is set for 6 PM CT.
