The Purple Aces surrendered two own-goals in the match
ST. CHARLES, Mo. – The University of Evansville men’s soccer team suffered their first season loss on Friday night in a 3-2 heartbreaker to Lindenwood.
A penalty kick goal and two own goals would sink the Purple Aces on the road against the Lindenwood Lions despite a fast start. UE scored the first two goals of the match but couldn’t find the back of Lindenwood’s net in the final 69 minutes.
Evansville scored early on Friday with senior midfielder Jose Vivas (Teruel, Spain) scoring his first goal of the season in the ninth minute following a team-leading performance against Eastern Illinois. Vivas worked his way through the middle of the field to take a shot from the top of the penalty box that sailed into the bottom left corner of the net.
The Aces scored again only 13 minutes later as junior defender Nacho Diaz-Caneja (Coruna, Spain) put a laser of a shot into the top right corner of the net from beyond the 18. Fifth-year forward Kai Phillip (Diego Martin, Trinidad and Tobago) picked up the assist on the goal with a cross from the back of the penalty box out to Diaz-Caneja.
UE’s offense slowed down after the two goals, not recording another shot in the first half. Evansville would find the back of the net in the 31st minute, only it was their own net as opposed to a third goal. The Aces took a 2-1 lead into the half break hoping to get their offense recharged and ready to go.
But UE’s offensive struggles continued in the second half as their first shot came in the 69th minute. Senior forward Nacho Diaz Barragan (Almeria, Spain) had a close chance from the 18 that sailed over the top of the net. Freshman goalkeeper Michal Mroz (Elk Grove, Ill. / Elk Grove HS) kept Evansville in the second half, making five saves in the first 20 minutes.
It became a tie match in the 83rd minute as on a Lions corner kick the ball careened off an Aces player past Mroz into the net. Less than a minute later junior defender Nalu Wagner (Leipzig, Germany) recorded UE’s final shot of the night from behind the 18 that was saved by Lindenwood goalkeeper Enzo Gil. The dagger for Evansville came in the 89th minute as a player foul in the penalty box awarded the Lions a penalty kick. Lindenwood forward Ethan Blake buried the PK into the right side of the net, handing the Aces their first loss of 2024.
Diaz Barragan led the team on offense with three shots and one on goal. Diaz-Caneja was the only other UE player with multiple shots recording two including his goal in the 21st minute. Mroz tied a career-high six saves in the loss while facing seven shots on goal.
Evansville remains on the road with a match at Butler on Tuesday, September 10th. It will be the Aces’ first visit to the Bud and Jackie Sellick Bowl since 2019. Kick-off for Tuesday’s game is set for 6 p.m. CT and will be streamed on FloSports.
