EVANSVILLE, Ind. – In what was a crucial match for MVC Tournament positioning, the University of Evansville women’s soccer team secured a dramatic win, using a go-ahead goal from Brooklyn Robinson (West Haven, Utah/Fremont) in the 82nd minute to secure a 2-1 over Belmont on Saturday night at Arad McCutchan Stadium.
Evansville controlled play throughout the first period, beginning with shots on goal by Taylor Wehrer (Las Vegas. Nev./Desert Oasis) and Ella Hamner (Evansville, Ind./Memorial).
The Purple Aces grabbed the lead in the 24th minute, as Taylor Johnson (Evansville, Ind./Reitz) sent a cross into the box where it was collected by Kathryn Tyler (Dallas, Texas/Liberty Christian) on the right side of the six. From there, Tyler put up a shot that deflected off a Belmont defender and found the back of the net for the first goal of the evening.
The lead remained heading into the halftime break, but the Bruins answered in the 57th minute to level the score at one.
From there, the Aces and Bruins battled to find the winner. Finally, Evansville was able to break through in the 82ndminute, when Isa Valdez (Phoenix, Ariz./Desert Vista) put a ball into the six for Robinson, who put a shot past a diving Belmont keeper for the go-ahead goal.
From there, the Evansville defense held strong to secure the win.
“I saw energy and togetherness,” said Head Coach Chris Pfau. “We’ve talked about it through the season, the ups and downs. I thought this week was good training, and I think we are slowly coming out of that fog that we were in. It was a great win, we needed it and we’ve worked hard all this week and it puts us back in the mix of things.”
“I think we are coming out of (the fog) and realize that if we stick together, good things are going to come out of it.”
With the win, Evansville moves to 6-4-2 overall and 2-2-1 in MVC play, climbing to fourth in the MVC table with seven points. UE returns to action next Sunday, traveling to Murray State.
