EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Making their fourth MVC Championship game appearance in the last five seasons, the University of Evansville men’s soccer team fought for all 90 minutes, but came up just short against Western Michigan on Saturday night at Arad McCutchan Stadium.
The first half of play was a defensive battle, with both teams combining for only three shots in the first 45 minutes.
Both offenses turned up the pressure in the second half, with Tancredi Fadda (Monza, Italy/University of Milan) putting a shot on goal in the 49th minute and Michal Mroz (Elk Grove, Ill./Elk Grove) making his first save of the night in the 52nd minute. Evansville tallied four more shots in the next 11 minutes, including another shot on goal by Fadda, but could not find the back of the net.
Western Michigan broke through in the 73rd minute, scoring a bicycle kick goal to take a 1-0 lead.
The Purple Aces continued to fight in the final 17 minutes, creating a number of scoring chances. Evansville tallied nine shots in the remainder of the match, including shots on goal by Devin Shepherd (Denver, Colo./Arapahoe), Nacho Garcia (Zaragoza, Spain/UNIR), and Martin Wurschmidt (Stavern, Norway/Thor Heyerdahl VGS). However, the Broncos defense held strong, and Western Michigan took a 1-0 win.
On the night, Evansville out-shot Western Michigan 17-6, including a 7-3 advantage in shots on goal. Fadda had a game-high five shots, putting two on goal.
“It took us a while to get the game on our terms,” said Head Coach Robbe Tarver. “As we were starting to build pressure and get more consistent looks on goal, they took advantage of a set piece moment. I think we created enough to win the game, and it just didn’t happen. That’s the game.”
Andres Escudero (San Sebastián de los Reyes, Spain/IES Joan Miro), Garcia and Shepherd represented Evansville on the MVC All-Tournament Team.
Evansville ends the season with a 7-5-8 record overall and captured a share of the MVC regular season title and the number one seed in the MVC Tournament for the first time in program history.
