EVANSVILLE, Ind. - In its final of two exhibitions this season, the University of Evansville managed to battle back from a one-goal deficit to earn a 2-1 triumph over Bellarmine on Sunday afternoon at Arad McCutchan Stadium.
"We had a younger group on the field and I think they got significant minutes today, around 70 minutes or so, against a good Bellarmine team," said Aces head men's soccer coach Marshall Ray. "Overall, I thought we did what he had to do. We had the starting group on there for about 20 minutes and they were able to get us two goals and preserve the lead for us."
Less than 24 hours after battling sixth-ranked Louisville on the road, the Purple Aces returned to the pitch as the opening 20 minutes of action featured possession switching back-and-forth between the two sides. Bellarmine found its goal advantage in the 25th minute as Tomas Bernedo found the end of a pass from Greg Fischer and slipped it past the keeper to give the Knights a 1-0 lead. Late in the opening half, Evansville began to find its stride. Freshman Ryan Harris sprinted into the box and linked up with fellow freshman Logan Muck and junior Jesse Stafford-Lacey as Harris eyed the back of the net and found it to tie the match at a goal a piece.
Box Score (PDF)
The go-ahead, and what would prove to be game-winning, goal came less than five minutes into the second half. Stringing a number of passes together, Harris and freshman Simon Paez Abedanck worked together feeding sophomore Adam Snow who finished neatly past the Knights' goalkeeper to push the Aces ahead 2-1. Over the final 40 minutes, the Aces' defense was tested as Bellarmine continued to apply pressure, but Evansville held strong, securing the 2-1 victory for UE.
Harris led the way for the Aces with a goal and an assists, while putting a pair of shots on-goal. In goal, sophomore Matt Bryant spent a spotless 58 minutes between the posts, making eight saves and earning the win in the exhibition.
Evansville begins its regular season on Friday and Sunday with a trip to Utah. The weekend begins for UE with a matchup with Utah Valley in Orem, Utah at 8 p.m. (CT) on Friday night. On Sunday morning, Evansville closes out the western trip with a neutral site showdown with UNLV in Orem, Utah at 11:30 a.m. (CT).
