Box Score CHICAGO, Ill. - After a tough battle, the University of Evansville women's soccer team saw Iran MVC Championship pursuit come to a close, falling to No. 2 seed Drake, 1-0, in double-overtime on Friday afternoon in the Missouri Valley Conference Championships semifinals in Chicago, Ill..
The early portions of the match featured possession switching back-and-forth with neither side able to find much production offensively. Drake began to find its rhythm past the 10 minute mark in the half as the Bulldogs recorded 13 total shots including 10 on-goal, but sophomore Michaela Till and the Purple Aces' backline prevented Drake from finding the back of the net. Offensively, Evansville tallied three shots with two forcing saves from Drake.
Box Score (PDF)
In the second half, the Bulldogs repeated their first half performance, totaling 13 shots in the second 45 minutes, again unable to find the back of the net. Evansville wasn't without its own opportunities as the Aces recorded three shots in the second half. A five-minute stretch beginning in the 62nd minute featured a string of chances for the Bulldogs as Drake notched four shots with one coming on-frame. The Aces responded in the 67th minute with a shot of their own as redshirt senior Montana Portenier had her shot blocked. The final 10 minutes of regulation included a trio of chances for Drake as the Bulldogs put three shots on-goal, but Till once again made the save on each, forcing overtime.
In the first overtime period, the Bulldogs had the upper hand with three shots in the period, but the Aces did not allow Drake to put any of the three on-goal. With just 23 seconds left in the half, Drake's Cassie Rohan sent a shot towards goal that was blocked by Evansville as the match moved to the second overtime.
Following over 100 minutes of scoreless soccer, Drake found its breakthrough in the 103rd minute. After a foul was committed by the Aces just to the side of the box, Drake earned a free kick in the 103rd minute. The free kick looped into the box where Olivia Bruce put a shot on-goal that Till saved. The shot rebounded off of Till and back into the middle of a group of Aces and Bulldogs, rolling free and finding the foot of Libby Helverson, who slipped the ball into the back of the net to give Drake the 1-0 double-overtime win.
Six Aces tallied a shot in the match with senior Sierra Pagan and sophomore Jayme-Lee Hunter each putting their shot on-goal. Between the posts, Till tied her own career-high and the Evansville program record for saves in a single match with 15, allowing one goal in the match.
Evansville concludes the season with a 4-12-3 record and a 2-4-1 mark in Missouri Valley Conference play.
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