Boxscore
ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- University of Evansville freshman Philip Manga scored the tying goal 17 minutes into the match, and defense ruled in the final 73 minutes here Friday night in the Aces' 1-1 men's soccer exhibition draw against defending Atlantic 10 champion and NCAA Tournament quarterfinalist Saint Louis University.
UE plays its second of three exhibitions Monday at home against Cincinnati at 5:00.
"It was a great experience for our players to play against a side like St. Louis and in front of a large crowd like that," said UE Coach Mike Jacobs. "It really simulated the environment that you expect in a conference game, and for so many of our young players to gain a valuable experience like that was critical for our group as we go forward into our regular season preparations.
"Saint Louis University is a very good side that is well-coached and organized, and gave us a good barometer to evaluate our team. We held out some key players due to minor injuries, and to play as well as we did for long stretches of the match with four freshmen in key roles was very encouraging. We had a lot of the possession, and looked very comfortable during the run of play. There were a lot of encouraging signs for this early in the season, and a lot to build from heading into our next exhibition match versus a very good University of Cincinnati team on Monday."
Alex Sweetin gave the Billikens a 1-0 lead at 11:48 when his blast from 15 yards got past UE keeper Phil Boerger. Five minutes later, however, Aaron Henkle and Tom Irvin combined passes to find Manga in front of the net, and he tapped it in to tie the score. Both teams finished with six shots, and both put two on goal.
