MACON, Ga. – Hitting the road for the first time this season, the University of Evansville men’s soccer team earned their second draw of the season, playing the Mercer Bears to a 1-1 final on Sunday afternoon.
For the second game in a row, Evansville fell behind early, as Mercer’s Liam Corr found the back of the net in the 10th minute of action to give the Bears the lead.
Evansville was quick to equalize, however. Taking control of the ball near midfield, Nacho Garcia (Zaragoza, Spain/UNIR) sent a ball down towards the box, where freshman Devin Shepherd (Denver, Colo./Arapahoe) controlled the ball off a Mercer header and chipped a shot over the head of the Mercer keeper to tie the score at one. The goal, coming in 23rd minute, was the first of Shepherd’s collegiate career.
The score would remain tied at one going into the half, but the second half saw the Aces take control. Evansville dominated possession throughout the second 45, creating numerous chances, but could not break through to find the winner as the afternoon ended in a 1-1 draw.
“This is a tough place to play,” said UE head coach Robbe Tarver. “Mercer has had a lot of consistently good years and play a tough style.”
“To concede early again and respond to get back into the game, I thought we managed moments well. We just couldn’t find the winner.”
“The energy, the effort, those intangibles – I thought we really owned those moments today. That will really set the foundation for our team this year.”
Evansville out-shot Mercer 10-8 overall, including a 5-2 edge in shots on goal. Tancredi Fadda (Milan, Italy/University of Milan) and Nacho Diaz-Caneja (Coruna, Spain) led the way in shots with two, with each putting one on goal. Michal Mroz (Elk Grove, Ill./Elk Grove) made one save in goal for the Aces.
With the draw, Evansville moves at 0-0-2 on the year. The Aces will return to the pitch on Thursday for a showdown at perennial powerhouse North Carolina. Kick-off is set for 6:30 PM CT from Chapel Hill.
