General

MSOC Championship: SIUE 2, Evansville 1

Friday, November 11, 2016
4667

No. 2 SIUE 2, No. 3 EVANSVILLE 1
Box Score

SPRINGFIELD, MO – Second-seeded SIUE advances to the title match of the MVC Men's Soccer Championship on Sunday after taking out No. 3 Evansville, 2-1, in Friday's first semifinal match at Betty & Bobby Allison South Stadium in Springfield, Mo. 

The Cougars opened the scoring, capitalizing on an opportunity midway through the opening frame (24:41), as sophomore Keegan McHugh took a corner kick, sending the ball to the front right of the box where an unmarked Austin Ledbetter was able to tap it in from close range past Evansville goalkeeper Frederik Reimer.

The goal by Ledbetter was his fifth of the season, as the MVC Player of the Year added to his single-season career high.  It also marked the first goal in MVC Tournament play for the senior standout.

SIUE turned up the heat in the second half as Joel Duncan netted his first goal of the season in the 58th minute.  Mohamed Awad corralled a loose ball and passed it Devyn Jambga who dropped it off to Duncan. The junior forward placed it in the left side of the net for the goal (58:08) with Awad and Jambga each earning their third assist of the year.

Evansville did not want to go quietly as the Aces pressed hard late in the contest and finally broke through with a goal in the 80th minute.  Junior Ian McGrath netted his 11th goal of the season on Zac Blaydes' 10th assist of the season.   McGrath also scored during the Aces' 2-1 overtime win over Drake on Wednesday.

The Aces almost provided the equalizer in the final seconds as Jesse Stafford Lacey provided a corner kick right to Ian McGrath who placed the ball right on goal, but SIUE goalkeeper Kyle Dal Santo made the save and preserved the win.

SIUE advances to take on the winner of the No. 1 Loyola/No. 5 Missouri State match on Sunday afternoon in the title match of the Missouri Valley Conference Men's Soccer Championship at 1:00 PM. The Cougars will be making their third-straight trip to the title match, winning the event in 2014. 

Evansville ends its season at 10-8-3.