The Purple Aces netted two goals in the victory
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Two second half goals powered the University of Evansville women’s soccer team to its first win of the 2024 season.
The Purple Aces offense came alive in the second half on Thursday night in a 2-1 win over the Lindenwood Lions. Forwards Amy Velazquez (Avon, Ind. / Avon HS) and Hailey Autenrieb (Cincinnati / Seaton HS) goals in the 72nd and 77th minutes helped UE to the win along with strong defense from the backline and goalkeeper Myia Danek (Laingsburg, Mich. / Laingsburg HS).
“It felt good to get the first win,” said Head Coach Chris Pfau. “I thought we did some really good things the first half. Things we have been working on in training. I thought it was important too that we got on them a little bit in the first half.
“Especially after Western Kentucky, because I thought the first half of WKU we did well, but we hit the wall a little bit. We weren’t as sharp with 10 days off; we didn’t do the little things. So to come out and not be shell shocked, still have the confidence to play and do some things was important. Getting the win with two freshmen playing center back in a big game and getting the explosiveness we did in the second half is huge. Getting two goals is also a bonus for us at this point.”
It was a quiet first half offensively for Evansville as the team didn’t register a shot in the first 45 minutes. But the Aces defense stood strong against Lindenwood’s attack, blocking three shots while Danek made her first of five saves in the 23rd minute.
UE’s offense came out fast and furious in the final 45 of the match starting with a corner kick in the first minute. Which was quickly followed up by Evansville’s first shot on goal from sophomore midfielder Ella Hamner (Evansville, Ind. / Memorial HS). The Lions took over on the offensive side of the ball for the next 15 minutes.
But it was the Aces who broke through first in the 72nd minute as sophomore midfielder Ashlyn Koutsos (Cumming, Ga. / West Forsyth HS) brought the ball up the middle of the field. Koutsos sent a cross to Velazquez on the left side who ran forward into the penalty box and nailed a left-footed shot that went off Lindenwood’s goalkeeper’s hands into the top left corner of the goal.
UE added an insurance goal from Autenrieb in the 76th minute as she chased down her own rebound off the post. Autenrieb cleared the goalkeeper on the initial shot and found the back of the net with a strike on the right side. The Lions did break the shutout in the 88th minute but Evansville locked things down in the final 90 seconds to secure the 2-1 win.
The Aces finished the match with nine shots as 44% landed on goal. Koutsos picked up her first point of the season with an assist on Velazquez goal in the 72nd minute while it was both goal scorers first of the season. UE is back in action on Sunday evening in Louisville with kickoff set for 6 p.m.
