Box Score EVANSVILLE – Goals on either side of the half proved enough for the University of Evansville women's soccer team on Wednesday night as the Purple Aces picked up a 2-1 Missouri Valley Conference victory over visiting Indiana State at Arad McCutchan Stadium.
"We talked with the team over the last week and half about how important this week was," UE head coach Krista McKendree said. "We were coming off a bye week, and we wanted to make sure that we didn't come out flat and give away an opportunity on our own home field. Winning tonight allows us to compete for a championship over our last two matches."
The win, which moves the Aces to 3-1-0 in league play and 4-10-1 overall, sets up a battle for first place on Sunday as league-leading Illinois State will pay a visit to campus for UE's penultimate league match of the season. A win over the Redbirds would give the Aces the conference lead heading into the final showdown of the season at Missouri State.
Indiana State dropped to 5-10-1 overall with a 1-3-1 MVC mark.
UE fired the opening salvo in Wednesday's match, scoring in unorthodox fashion in the fifth minute. After a Montana Portenier header was blocked, Harvey stuck her heel out to tap home the score. It was the second goal in three matches for the freshman out of Waterloo, Ill.
The Sycamores had a response 30 minutes later as Pam Silies pounced on an opportunity inside UE's 18-yard box to level the match.
Bronwyn Boswell made a return to the scoresheet just over three minutes after the half to put UE back ahead. After JBess Ruby played a ball into Portenier inside the 18, and she would lay it off to Boswell on the left side. The senior took advantage of the great build-up, finishing cleanly into the opposite net for her team-leading sixth goal of the season.
The score moved her into a tie for eighth all-time on the UE scoring list with 20 career goals.
The Aces will return to action against Illinois State on Sunday. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m.
NOTES: Boswell moved into a tie with Shelean Roylance, who played for the Aces from 1994-98 … UE is 28-28-6 all-time against fellow Indiana schools … The Aces are 2-3-0 all-time on Oct. 19, and Wednesday marked the first time the school has played on the date since a 1-0 loss to ISU in 2011.
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