SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – In a season that's been defined by late goal after late goal for the University of Evansville men's soccer team, the Purple Aces would come up just inches short of another, falling 2-1 to second-seeded SIUE in the semifinal round of the Missouri Valley Conference Championship at Betty and Bobby Allison South Stadium on the campus of Missouri State University.
With the loss, the Aces finished their season with a 10-8-3 overall record, marking their first 10-win season since 2013. SIUE, meanwhile, improved to 9-4-5 and ran its unbeaten streak out to 11 matches.
"The guys left everything on the field, and there's no question that it's become an identity of this program to keep fighting to the end," Ray said. "We stuck to our game plan, and we only gave up three shots in the first half. We knew we'd have an opportunity in the second half, and I think that showed in the 14 shots we had in the second. I can't say enough about the effort they gave today and all season."
Battling the wind for much of the first half, the Aces bookended the lone goal of the opening 45 minutes with the second and third best chances of the period. Initially, it appeared as if Ryan Koenig would open the scoring midway through the half as a Jared Robinson played his fellow senior on a breakaway, but the finish was high.
On the other end, an SIUE corner fell in the box, and the Cougars' Austin Ledbetter was able to get a foot on it, finishing cleanly for the goal.
Simon Waever would have the next best opportunity as he controlled the ball around the edge of the SIUE 18-yard box, beat a defender and then saw his shot saved by Cougar goalkeeper Kyle Dal Santo.
In the second half, SIUE would double its advantage with a Joel Duncan breakaway in the 59
th minute.
The combo of Zac Blaydes and Ian McGrath got the Aces back in the game inside the last 10 minutes as Blaydes picked out McGrath on a free kick from outside the box. It was the 11
th goal of the season for McGrath and the 10
th assist for Blaydes, who leads the league in the category.
McGrath was also involved on the Aces would-be equalizer. Jesse Stafford Lacey's 90
th-minute corner found the junior's head, but his attempt was well-saved by a diving Dal Santo with 14 seconds left.
"I think the seniors were an unbelievable inspiration for our guys, and they harken back to some of the great players that we had in the late 80s and early 90s," Ray said. "This was a team that battled and competed every minute of the game, and that comes from them. It ran through our program this season."
NOTES: Friday marked the sixth-ever semifinal for the Aces and the first since 2009 … Ian McGrath's 11 goals were the most for a UE player since Shawn Beyer scored 16 in 1996 … Zac Blaydes' 10 assists are the most for an Ace since Faik Hajderovic recorded 14 in 2013 … The Aces are now 6-10-3 all-time vs. SIUE and 68-47-10 against schools from the state of Illinois … Since 1979, UE is 1-4-0 on Nov. 11.
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