LOUISVILLE – Evansville senior Tancredi Fadda (Monza, Italy/University of Milan) notched his first career brace and freshman Devin Shepherd (Denver, Colo./Arapahoe) added a goal to power the Purple Aces to their first win over Louisville since 2001 on Monday night, taking down the Cardinals by a score of 3-1. The win was Evansville’s first over a power conference opponent since 2013 and the first over the Cardinals in Louisville since 1991.
Evansville jumped on top early in the match, scoring in the fourth minute to take a 1-0 lead. Fadda capitalized on a Louisville mistake, grabbing a loose ball at the top of the box and finding the back of the net for his third goal of the campaign.
Andres Escudero (San Sebastián de los Reyes, Spain/IES Joan Miro) nearly doubled the lead in the 11th minute, but his shot went just wide of the far post to keep it a one-goal game. Aces keeper Michal Mroz (Elk Grove, Ill./Elk Grove) was tested for the first time in the 17th minute and faced another shot on target in the 27th minute, but collected saves on both chances.
Evansville saw another near scoring chance in the 36th minute off a free kick, taken by Ben Zec (Carmel, Ind./Carmel). Zec placed a ball near the penalty spot for Håkon Edstrøm (Baerum, Norway/Norges Toppidrettsgymnas), but his header went just over the crossbar.
Just before halftime, the Aces broke through for their second goal of the match, with Shepherd scoring his fourth goal of the year. The chance was created by Zec once again, who lifted a ball from midfield line on the near side down towards the far side of the box for Shepherd, who uncorked a laser past the Cardinals keeper to make it a 2-0 game.
Louisville battled back in the second half, scoring a goal in the 64th minute to cut the Evansville lead back down to one. However, the Purple Aces kept their foot on the gas pedal and continued to threaten the Cardinals back line. Shepherd nearly secured his second brace of the season in the 72nd minute, putting a left-footed shot on target, but a great save by Louisville keeper Alex Svetanoff denied the freshman.
In the 78th minute, Escudero created another chance for the Aces, earning possession along the sideline in the Evansville attacking end. From there, Shepherd took the ball near the box before giving it back to Escudero, who delivered a beautiful cross into the box for Fadda. Off one touch and a spin, Fadda ripped a shot into the bottom right corner for his second goal of the night, delivering the dagger for a 3-1 win.
With the win, Evansville moves to 5-3-8 overall. The Purple Aces now turn their to attention to a critical final two matches of the regular season, beginning with the final home match of the regular season on Friday against Northern Illinois. Evansville, Northern Illinois and Drake currently sit in a three-way tie atop the MVC standings at 2-0-3, while the Aces look for their first regular season conference title since 1991. Friday’s match against the Huskies is set for 6 PM at Arad McCutchan Stadium.
