Aces women’s soccer ends 2024 with a win over Southern Illinois
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville women’s soccer team ended their 2024 season with a 2-0 win over the Southern Illinois Salukis.
The Purple Aces ended their season on a high note with their highest margin of victory on Sunday afternoon. Freshman defender Emmy Brenner (Arlington, Tenn. / St. Benedict at Auburndale HS) scored her third goal and first game-winner of the year in the 40th minute. While senior forward Ryleigh Anslinger (Evansville, Ind. / Memorial HS) had her first point of the year in her final match with UE on junior forward Chrysta Vasquez’s (Las Vegas / Coronado HS) goal in the 60th minute.
“This match was good for a lot of different reasons,” said Head Coach Chris Pfau following the victory. “We talk a lot about changing the program and the culture of the team. This is a game we could have gotten blown out; we didn’t have to show up. Last Sunday giving up a goal really late to knock us out of the playoffs really deflated us. It’s been a tough week both on the field and off.
“I said we have to show up because we owe the seniors and the players that came back for a fifth year. And that’s what they did. That’s the character and the culture of this team now. They care about each other; they’re playing for each other. And I thought the result was good. We started scoring at the end of the season. But that’s good because we’re starting to find what we needed and the pieces for the future.”
It was a slow start to the final match of the season for both teams as neither found the offensive end of the pitch until the 37th minute. Evansville picked up a yellow card through the early defensive battle but also had two corner kicks to Southern Illinois one. The Aces broke the nil-nil draw on their first shot of the match on the set piece as Brenner headed the ball from the six into the middle of the net. Sophomore midfielder Ashlyn Koutsos (Cumming, Ga. / West Forsyth HS) was credited with the assist on the goal from taking the corner for UE.
The Salukis tried to respond in the final five minutes of the first half with four straight shots. But all four of the attempts didn’t find their way to the net. The second half got off to a quick start as SIU registered a shot in the 48th minute while Evansville made two trips into the offensive zone.
The Aces doubled their lead early in the half as 15 minutes in Anslinger connected with Vasquez from just inside the penalty area to the top corner of the goal box. Vasquez then easily used her right foot to put the ball to the right of the Salukis goalkeeper for her only goal of the season. UE’s defense locked in for the final 30 minutes of the match as fifth-year goalkeeper Myia Danek (Laingsburg, Mich. / Laingsburg HS) recorded a save and fended off a shot wide in the final minute.
Brenner was the only Evansville player with multiple shots on Sunday afternoon as both of her attempts went on target. All four of the Aces defenders played for a full 90 minutes as fifth-year player Rachel Rosborough (Mt. Brydges, Ontario) ended her career as UE’s all-time minutes played leader at 6,506 minutes. Danek also made her way into the record book for Evansville on Sunday with 36 matches played at ninth all-time, 157 saves for eighth in program history, and sixth in shutouts with nine through three seasons.
The Aces end the 2024 season with a 2-7-7 record. Senior forward Hailey Autenrieb (Cincinnati / Seton HS) and Brenner ended the year tied for UE’s offensive lead with nine points each. With three goals, Brenner and sophomore forward Taylor Johnson (Evansville, Ind. / Reitz HS) led Evansville in scoring while Autenrieb led the team in assists with three. The Aces say goodbye to five players with the end of the 2024 season in Danek, Autenrieb, midfielder Reese Simmons (Las Vegas / Shadow Ridge HS), Anslinger, and Rosborough.
