UE men’s soccer looking for road split against UNC Asheville

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The Purple Aces play their first game on Labor Day in two years on Monday morning
ASHEVILLE, N.C. –– After suffering their first loss of the season on Friday evening, the University of Evansville men’s soccer team is ready to bounce back with a win against the UNC Asheville Bulldogs.
A goal in the final five minutes of Friday’s contest ended the Purple Aces unbeaten streak to begin the 2023 season. With a holiday game on Labor Day, UE renews a series with UNC Asheville that has been on and off over the past 25 years. Monday morning’s match will be Evansville’s first visit to Asheville since 2001 where they suffered their only loss of the series. The two teams last met in 2019 at Arad McCutchan Stadium where Evansville posted a 1-0 shutout performance. Graduate student Nkosi Graham provided an assist on the Aces lone goal in 2019.

On Friday night, UE fought back to a 1-1 draw in the final minute of the first half thanks to a goal by junior midfielder Jose Vivas. The goal was Vivas’ second of the season, and his fifth shot on goal good enough to lead the Aces in shots. Vivas and junior forward Nacho Diaz Barragan have emerged as the early offensive leaders for Evansville with four points each and 50% or better in shot on goal percentage.

The Bulldogs come into Monday morning’s game with a 2-1 record after wins against Navy and Queens (N.C.) UNC Asheville’s lone loss of the season came against Georgia Southern where the Bulldogs were shut out by the Eagles’ defense. With two wins already under their belt, Asheville has matched their 2022 season win total after less than two weeks of season action.

Monday’s game from North Carolina is set for an 11 a.m. CT kick-off time. The match will be streamed on ESPN+ with live stats from UNC Asheville.

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