Women's Soccer Evansville Athletic Communications

2021 Women's Soccer Tournament Match 2 - Evansville 1 (5), Indiana State 1 (3)

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Turning-in a complete performance, the University of Evansville women's soccer team overcame an early deficit, forcing penalty kicks before finishing with a 5-3 advantage over Indiana State to advance in the MVC Championship on Sunday afternoon in Terre Haute, Ind.

In goal, redshirt senior Michaela Till was stellar again, making nine saves and allowing one goal in the draw. On the attack for Evansville, sophomore Rachel Rosborough picked the best time to score her first career goal, finding the back of the net to equalize the match.

After going back-and-forth for the first minutes of the match, Indiana State jumped in front first. In the 15th minute, the Sycamores' Anna Holcombe recorded a shot from the top of the box that skipped across the turf and deflected off the post and in to give ISU a 1-0 lead, an advantage it would hold at the half.

Despite trailing at the break, Evansville wasted little time equalizing the match in the second half. In the 47th minute, fifth-year senior Jayme-Lee Hunter slipped a ball to Rosborough, who went to the far post, past a diving Sycamore keeper to tie the match at one. Over the rest of the second half, Evansville was tasked with holding-off a surging Sycamore attack. In all, Indiana State recorded 17 shots in the second 45-minute period, but the Aces were up to it. The best chance of the half for ISU came in the final minutes of regulation. With less than two minutes remaining, a ball was deflected into the 18-yard box that Till chased after, once the ball hit, it spun back towards the Indiana State forward, forcing Till to make a tough play, subsequently colliding with the Sycamores forward in the process, earning ISU a penalty. On the penalty, Indiana State's CeCe Wahlberg went to Till's right, but the Avon, Ind. native was not fooled, picking correctly and punching the attempt away to preserve the tie and force overtime.

Another 20 minutes was not enough as the Aces allowed just one shot on-goal, coming in the second OT, that Till saved, sending the match into PKs.

In the first round of penalties, Evansville's Abby Phelps converted and the Sycamores' Maddie Alexander answered. In the second round, Emily Ormson converted and then Till showed up when it counted most again. As Isabella Hunter attempted her try, Till again made a save on a PK, giving Evansville the advantage. Down the stretch, Evansville was true again and again. Following conversions by Emilie Hill and Morgan Blair, the pressure fell on the shoulders of Jayme-Lee Hunter. The New Zealand native approached the ball and perfectly placed it into the top left corner, ending the match and sending the Aces to the MVC Championship semifinals.

Evansville will continue its postseason journey on Friday in Chicago, Ill. as the Aces face the No. 2 seed Valparaiso in the semifinals at Loyola Soccer Park at 3 PM.
 
  • INFO: For all of the latest information on University of Evansville athletics, log on to the sport page on GoPurpleAces.com or follow the program on Twitter via @UEAthletics.
 
  • TICKETS: To purchase tickets for University of Evansville athletics events, log on to GoPurpleAces.com and click on the TICKETS tab on top of the page
 
  • SUPPORT: For information on giving to UE Athletics or its individual athletics programs, visit the SUPPORT tab on the top of GoPurpleAces.com.