Wednesday, November 9, 2016

No. 3 EVANSVILLE 2, No. 6 DRAKE 1 (OT)
Box Score

SPRINGFIELD, MO – No. 3 Evansville captured the team's first MVC tournament win since 2009 with a thrilling 2-1 win in overtime over No. 6 Drake. The Aces capitalized on a Zac Blaydes free kick 19 seconds into the first overtime period, beating Drake goalkeeper Darrin MacLeod and eliminating the defending MVC tourney champions.  With the win, Evansville advances to the tourney semifinals on Friday afternoon.

Drake scored the game's first goal in the fourth minute (4:52) as freshman Antonio Sanchez stole the ball and scored from 15 yards out unassisted.  The goal was Sanchez's first goal of the 2016 season and his career.

Just seven minutes later, Evansville scored the equalizer as Ian McGrath netted his 10th goal of the season on an assist from Simon Waever. McGrath's 10 goals are tied for the best single-season haul for the Aces since Dan Broxup scored 10 times in 2003.

"We've definitely dealt with some resilience this season," stated Evansville head coach Marshall Ray. "We've had to come from behind for some of our big wins this season, and Drake gave us everything they could today. Ian's brought us back in a lot of games this season. It's always great to see a player get to 10 goals, but it's even more impressive for a guy like Ian who plays in the midfield," added Ray.

The win over Drake was the first for Evansville against the Bulldogs in MVC tourney play, losing their previous four meetings, and delivers UE to the MVC semifinals for the first time since 2009.

Evansville advances to take on second seeded SIUE on Friday in the first semifinal of the Missouri Valley Conference Men's Soccer Championship at 3:00 PM. The Aces and Cougars just faced each other in the regular-season finale last Saturday in Evansville, as both teams played to a 1-1 draw. 

Drake ends its season at 6-12-1.