The Purple Aces picked up their third shutout of the year
PEORIA, Ill. – The University of Evansville men’s soccer team won its first Missouri Valley Conference game of the season in a 2-0 shutout of the Bradley Braves.
Another Purple Ace scored their first goal of the season as senior forward Edward Mendy (Overland Park, Kan. / Blue Valley West HS) put in the decisive second goal in UE’s third-straight win over the Braves. Despite Bradley leading the stats on paper, Evansville found goals when the team needed them for their first Valley win of 2024.
It was an even game through the first 10 minutes as the two teams figured out the match’s pace. The Aces got the first offensive flurry of the night with three shots in under three minutes. But it would be the Braves who got UE on the board first with an own goal in the 26th minute as communication broke down between Bradley’s defender and goalkeeper. Spurred by the sudden 1-0 lead, Evansville took another shot right after that went just wide right for senior forward Nacho Diaz Barragan (Almeria, Spain).
The Braves kept the Aces away from the net for the final third of the half. But UE’s defense kept right with them to take a one-goal lead into halftime. Evansville’s offense exploded once again right out of the gate in the second half. In his first game back from injury, Mendy found himself alone with the ball on the right side of the field. Mendy made his way into the attacking third and took a shot from the 12, putting the ball down into the bottom left corner of the net for his first of the year.
With a two-goal lead the Aces kept control of the match over the next 15 minutes, matching every shot Bradley took. The Braves had a bit of an offensive surge with back-to-back shots in the 68th and 69th minutes. But UE took the ball back into its offensive zone for a shot from junior defender Nacho Diaz-Caneja (Coruña, Spain) that was blocked away from the goalkeeper. Evansville kept Bradley’s offense at bay, blocking the Braves’ final shot of the match in the 83rd minute.
The Aces 2-0 win over Bradley marked their first of conference play after two close losses to then No. 9 Western Michigan and Drake. With two points in MVC action, UE moves up to sixth in the standings right behind UIC. Evansville will welcome the Flames to town for its next match in two weeks on Saturday, October 12th to potentially decide the fifth-place spot in the conference. Kick-off after the Aces break on October 12th is set for 7 p.m.
