EVANSVILLE – It wasn't an ideal start for head coach Marshall Ray and his University of Evansville men's soccer team on Wednesday night, but as they have all season, the Purple Aces responded well to the early adversity, pulling out a 2-1 victory at Arad McCutchan Stadium.
"It took us a little while to try and stop them early, but I think the guys responded to it very well," Ray said. "I think we were a little better in the second half, and this is another test that we've passed and now we can move on. The guys showed a lot of mental poise tonight. This team battles and fights every match, and fortunately, we were able to create some opportunities and score from them."
Frederik Reimer's number was called upon often in that early stretch, and he proved up to the task until Marshall's Brayan Lopez-Mendez hammered home a rebounded shot to put the visitors up 1-0 in the 18
th minute. Reimer, a freshman out of Vester Hassing, Denmark, recorded seven saves in the contest.
It would take just 12 minutes for the Aces to respond as the addition of leading scorer Ian McGrath helped turn the tide. The New Lenox, Ill., native was on the end of a pass from Zac Blaydes, and he chested it down to a waiting Ben Weber near the top of the 18-yard box. Weber, a freshman out of Weldon Spring, Mo., took full advantage of the opportunity, finishing cleanly to level the affair.
"Zac and I were working well together, and I love making those runs through to the back line," McGrath explained. "He is always looking for me when I do that, and he played a nice ball over the top to me and I was able to chest it down. Ben's really impressed me this year. He's not afraid. He gets in good positions too, and that's what you need from a striker."
McGrath would be involved in the match-winner as well. Just over nine minutes after the break, the junior midfielder set up for a touch from Jared Robinson inside the 18. McGrath made the opportunity count, burying it past Herd goalkeeper Nate Himes for his fifth goal of the season.
"I try to be in the right place at the right time," McGrath said. "I don't know if it's luck or if it's just instinct. I saw the ball pop in, and I knew Jared was going to get there, so I stayed back a bit. I just focused on striking it hard and low on the back post, and luckily enough, it squeaked in."
The Aces, who have scored in all 10 matches this season, will return to conference play this weekend with a match against Missouri State on Saturday at 7 p.m. With a 2-0-0 league mark, UE is off to its best MVC start since 1997.
NOTES: Zac Blaydes picked up his team-best sixth assist in the Wednesday's match … UE is 2-2-0 all-time against Marshall … Last season, former Ace Nate Opperman scored the decisive goal in a 1-0 victory in Huntington … The Thundering Herd won each of the previous two, outscoring the Aces 3-0 over a pair of meetings in 2012 and 2014 … Marshall is the only team the Aces have played from the state of West Virginia … UE is 4-1-2 overall in matches played on Sept. 28.
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