EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Fresh off their first win over a Power-4 opponent since 2008, the UE women’s soccer team continued to roll on Sunday afternoon, scoring three first half goals to down visiting SIUE at Arad McCutchan Stadium.
Evansville’s first half onslaught marked the first time the Aces have scored three goals in a half in four years and the first time they have scored three times in the first half in nine years. Taylor Wehrer (Las Vegas, Nev./Desert Oasis) opened the scoring in the 11th minute with her third goal of the season, while Kathryn Tyler (Dallas, Texas/Liberty Christian) and Lily Kytasaari (Platte City, Mo./Platte County) scored the first goals of their careers in the 22nd and 34th minutes, respectively.
The Purple Aces’ first attack came together in the 11th minute, with Ella Hamner (Evansville, Ind./Memorial) possessing the ball near midfield and sending a ball into the right side of the box for Taylor Johnson (Evansville, Ind./Reitz). From there, Johnson lofted a cross in front of the goal line, where Wehrer put the ball into the back of an empty net for the goal. Wehrer’s three goals this season lead the team, while Johnson’s assist was her third of the season to claim the team lead.
11 minutes later, the Aces found another scoring chance on a corner kick. Brielle LaBerge (Cumming, Ga./Forsyth Central) took the kick and delivered a beautiful ball to the far post, where Tyler got a head on it to score her first career goal.
The scoring barrage continued 12 minutes later, as Brooklyn Robinson (West Haven, Utah/Fremont) made a long run with the ball from midfield into the box, where her shot was blocked by an SIUE defender. Kytasaari collected the ball just inside the top of the box and fired a shot into the bottom left corner of the goal to give UE a commanding lead.
From there, the UE defense held strong, holding the Cougars scoreless for the Aces’ first shutout of the year. Allie Lammers (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame) posted a clean sheet in her first career start, making two saves.
“Coming off the Purdue win, emotionally draining, you’re worried about coming flat, and I thought we did the opposite,” Head Coach Chris Pfau said postgame. “I thought we got on top of them a little bit and created our chances.”
“We lost our starting goalkeeper and two defenders, and to replace them and get a shutout is a great step forward for our program and great maturity from the leaders on our team.”
UE held the shot advantage at 16-8, including a 12-3 edge in shots on goal. The 12 shots on goal were the most in a game so far this season for Evansville.
With the win, Evansville improves to 3-1 on the year, the program’s best start since 2021. UE hits the road on Thursday, taking on Austin Peay at 6 PM.
