The Purple Aces were led on offense by defender Nacho Diaz-Caneja
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The University of Evansville men’s soccer team couldn’t overcome an early deficit in a 2-1road loss to the #9 Western Michigan Broncos.
Freshman defender Martin Wurschmidt (Fram, Norway) scored his first collegiate goal for the Purple Aces in the 63rd minute of Sunday’s match. But the goal wouldn’t be enough for UE to earn a result against the ninth ranked team in the nation in a hard fought game. With only six shots in 90 minutes Evansville only had the lone opportunity in the back of the net.
It was a battle in the midfield to begin Sunday’s match as neither team had an attacking opportunity in the first eight minutes. The Aces were the first team to put a shot on goal, as junior defender Nacho Diaz-Caneja (Coruna, Spain) launched from the top of the penalty circle to Bronco’s goalie Colin West. Western Michigan responded to UE’s offense with an attack of its own in the second third of the first half.
After two straight shots from the Broncos, Evansville took a foul in the goal box giving WMU a penalty kick. Western Michigan didn’t score on the PK itself but found the bottom right side of the net on the rebound in the 22nd minute to put the Aces down by one. Following the goal, the Broncos controlled the pace of play as UE didn’t record a shot for the rest of the half.
It took Evansville a few minutes to get going in the second half on offense as they defended two corner kicks in the first minute of play. Western Michigan kept the pressure on in the attacking third and scored their second goal of the match in the 59th minute. The Aces responded shortly after in the 63rd minute as Wurschmidt headed the ball into the right side of the net off a free kick from midfielder Jacopo Fedrizzi (Guilia, Spain) for his second assist of the year.
UE continued to try and find the tying goal to earn a result against the Broncos. Diaz-Caneja had a near miss in the 74th minute as his shot sailed just wide of the net. Evansville also had a close opportunity in the 78th minute as senior midfielder Jose Vivas (Teruel, Spain) forced a diving save from Welsh on the second attempt from a free kick. The Aces final attempt to tie the game up came with only 40 seconds left on the clock as UE earned a free kick just outside the penalty area. But WMU got a head on the ball off the kick, sending it away from any Evansville touch in the attacking third.
Diaz-Caneja had the most shots for the Aces with three through 90 minutes. Three other players had a shot each including Wurschmidt’s goal. UE continues their four game road swing with a stop in Cincinnati at Xavier. Kick-off from Corcoran Field on Tuesday, September 24th is set for 6 p.m.
