No. 6 BRADLEY 1, No. 3 EVANSVILLE 0
Box Score

PEORIA, Ill. - An early goal by Bradley's Jason Lesch was all the Braves needed to hold off Evansville, as Bradley topped the Purple Aces 1-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference Championship quarterfinals Wednesday evening. The Braves advance to the semifinals of the MVC Men's Soccer Championship and will take on second-seeded SIUE on Friday evening.

Bradley netted the game's only goal in the 11th minute on a play that began with a right-sided service from freshman Richard Olson to the far post, where Christian Okeke's header was deflected across the goal mouth. With Evansville keeper Eric Teppen out of position trying to get to Okeke's header, Lesch won the race to the loose ball with an Aces defender and body-blocked the ball into the goal for his fifth tally of the season at 10:22.

Though Evansville finished the first half with an 8-3 advantage in shots, Bradley did not sit back on its 1-0 lead in the second half. In fact, the Braves outshot Evansville by a 13-11 count after the break. Many of Bradley's chances came in counter attack fashion down the stretch as the Purple Aces became more and more desparate to find the equalizer.

Bradley sophomore goalkeeper Logan Ketterer provided the final line of defense, however, making seven saves for his fourth shutout of the season.

Evansville maintained the pressure alll the way to the final horn, getting one last shot rocket from the top of the 18 by Nate Opperman that whistled over the cross bar as the final horn sounded.