Evansville moves to 2-0 in MVC play for first time since 2016
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville men’s soccer team moved to 2-0 in MVC play for the first time since 2016 on Saturday night, taking down Western Michigan by a score of 2-0. With the win, the Aces extend their unbeaten streak to six and their winning streak to three. The streak marks Evansville’s first unbeaten streak of six matches in the single season since 2009.
Evansville struck early for the second match in a row, with Tancredi Fadda (Monza, Italy/University of Milan) finding the back of the net with a rocket in the fourth minute for his second goal of the season. The goal came off assists from Nacho Diaz-Caneja (Coruña, Spain/Oregon State) and Andres Escudero (San Sebastián de los Reyes, Spain/IES Joan Miro).
Fadda was active throughout the remainder of the first half, tallying two more shots, but the score remained 1-0 going into halftime.
The Purple Aces struck again shortly after the halftime intermission, when Nate Roberts (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman HS) earned a penalty by drawing a foul in the box in the 50thminute. Martin Wurschmidt (Stavern, Norway/Thor Heyerdahl VGS) stepped to the spot and buried a shot past a diving Broncos keeper to make it 2-0. The penalty goal was Wurschmidt’s second of the season.
From there, the Evansville defense held strong to post their fourth shutout of the season. Michal Mroz (Elk Grove, Ill./Elk Grove) made five saves in the final 20 minutes of action to tie his season-high and record his third shutout in a row. Over the last five matches, Mroz has allowed just one goal.
“Obviously, getting an early goal really helps,” said Head Coach Robbe Tarver. “It allowed us to settle into the game a little bit. I don’t remember the last time that we were 2-0 in conference, so that puts us in a really good position to achieve the goal of making the MVC Tournament. That’s the way we are going to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, we have to do that first. To have six points after two games is massive for us.”
“Nothing is done for this season, we need to keep going.”
With the win, Evansville moves to 4-2-5 overall and 2-0 in MVC play, marking the first time the Aces have opened conference play with shutouts of 2-0 or better. Evansville currently sits in first place in the MVC standings as the only team with two wins. UE returns to action on Tuesday for a non-conference match-up at Northwestern. Kick-off is set for 6:30 PM.
