The University of Evansville men’s soccer team captured the 2017 ProRehab Aces Soccer Classic title with a 4-1 victory over Northern Illinois on Monday afternoon at Arad McCutchan Stadium.
“It was a good game today. Any time you can get two wins in a weekend, that’s what we talked to the guys about,” said Aces head coach Marshall Ray. “That’s what we’re going to have to do if we’re fortunate enough to get ourselves into that situation in the conference tournament. Being able to put two games together in a weekend is very important.”
The Aces struck first in the 15th minute as senior Arlick Ntabana spun through the defense and finished top shelf to give UE a 1-0 lead.
Just before the halftime break, Evansville added another goal as freshman Filip Johansson scored the first goal of his collegiate career after sprinting past his defender scoring past the keeper.
The second half started out much like the previous 45 minutes as junior Caleb Williams found the end of a free kick by sophomore Jesse Stafford Lacey and headed it into the back of the net.
NIU pulled one back in the 53rd minute with a goal by Jan Maertins off a cross by Noah Brodie that cut the Aces’ lead to 3-1. The Aces added a final tally in the 68th minute as senior Ian McGrath scored his fifth goal of the season on a penalty kick as UE secured a 4-1 win.
The Huskies narrowly out-shot Evansville, 16-15, with UE holding a 6-5 advantage on shots on-goal.
McGrath, Ntabana, Williams, and Adam Snow all tallied three shots to lead the Aces. Senior goalkeeper Matthew Keller captured his fourth win of the season in goal, making four saves on 16 shots.
After the match McGrath, Stafford Lacey, Keller, and senior Chris Shuck were all named to the All-Tournament team with Shuck capturing defensive MVP honors and McGrath being named offensive MVP.
The Aces hit the road for a pair of matches in the coming weeks starting with a showdown with Grand Canyon in Phoenix, Arizona at 9 p.m. on Thursday.
