Box Score EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Matching-up against a familiar foe, the University of Evansville men's soccer team battled to a 0-0 draw with SIUE on Tuesday evening at Arad McCutchan Stadium.
"It was a gutsy battle against a top 20 team in the country. Their record coming in was 9-1-3 with some good wins on the year," said Aces' men's soccer head coach Marshall Ray. "Proud of the guys to hold on and battle. I think, Ben (Weber) was close there in overtime. The keeper had one in the upper 90 that he punched out, but the guys kept battling and fighting. That's the characteristics of our team. I think we've kind of turned a corner. We've got three of four matches now in a row that we've played consistent and put some teams under pressure. All in all a good night, but now we've got to figure out how to have a good two days of recovery and rest and get on that bus and go to Loyola and try and replicate what we've done the last three or four games."
Midway through the opening half, the Purple Aces created a pair of chances as freshmen Logan Muck and Davis Peck each put shots on-goal that were saved by SIUE goalkeeper Noah Heim. The Cougars' Lachlan McClean recorded three shots in the first half, but each skirted wide or high of goal. In the final minute before half, SIUE had a shot saved by junior Frederik Reimer, which rebounded to Jaime Roiz whose shot was blocked as the clock ran out.
Just shy of 15 minutes into the second half, sophomore Filip Johansson manufactured an opportunity for Evansville that was saved by Heim. 10 minutes later, the Cougars responded with a shot on-goal as Greg Solawa's chance was corralled by Reimer. The Aces provided two more shots in the final 10 minutes of regulation with Muck's shot missing wide in the 82nd minute and Waever's try going wide in the 87th minute as the match moved into the first overtime period.
Box Score (PDF)
The first overtime featured seven total shots with UE holding a 4-3 advantage in the period. SIUE had two shots blocked inside the first three minutes, which Evansville answered with two shots of their own. Redshirt junior Hunter DeWeese placed a header on-goal that a Cougar defender kicked away to redshirt senior Trevor Baum who headed it back on-goal as Heim made the save for SIUE. With 21 seconds left in the first overtime, junior Ben Weber looked to provide the Aces with the game-winner, but Weber's shot was blocked, leading the match into the second overtime period.
Despite a lack of chances in the final overtime period, each team made the most of their opportunities. All three shots in the 10-minute overtime were put on-goal, beginning with McLean's header in the 104th minute that Reimer collected. The Aces recorded a shot on-goal less than a minute later as Weber tallied his fourth shot of the night, which Heim deflected over the crossbar to force a UE corner kick. For their last opportunity, the Cougars' Kashaun Smith sent a shot towards goal, but Reimer helped preserve the score as the Aces and Cougars finished in a 0-0 draw.
Leading the way for Evansville, Weber recorded four shots, putting one on-goal in the draw. In goal, junior Frederik Reimer notched his second shutout of the season, making four saves in Evansville's draw.
The Aces next head to Chicago for a showdown with Loyola Chicago at 7 p.m. on Saturday night.
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