EVANSVILLE, Ind. - In an evenly played match, the University of Evansville men's soccer team battled closely with the ninth-ranked team in the nation, but fell, 1-0, to No. 9 Missouri State on Saturday evening at Arad McCutchan Stadium in Evansville, Ind.

"It was a long week against three really good opponents. I give our guys credit for battling and fighting," said Evansville head men's soccer coach Marshall Ray. "We lost our way a little bit in the first part of the second half tonight and some of that is playing against a very good team in Missouri State and I think some of it is the fatigue that we felt after being on the road at Loyola to IU and now playing Missouri State at home. We've played better and we're putting ourselves in situations to compete in matches. We've got to rest and get prepared for SIUE and finish off with our three conference games and get ready for the postseason tournament."

Junior Nkosi Graham and freshman Jose Vivas led the Evansville attack, each recording three shots with Vivas putting a team-best two on-goal on the evening. In goal, redshirt junior Jacob Madden turned-in an impressive performance, limiting a potent Missouri State attack with seven saves.

The first half of action saw much of the attack lean in Evansville's favor as the Aces recorded a pair of great opportunities. In the 41st minute, Davis Peck received a ball in open space and dribbled into the box, firing a shot from 10 yards out that was blocked by a last ditch sliding effort by a Bears defender, keeping Evansville from scoring first. Just over a minute late, Evansville again challenged the Bears as Graham let loose a shot from 25 yards out that tested Missouri State Michael Creek, who eventually corralled the ball and made the save as the match went to the half scoreless.

Missouri State gained much of the early possession in the second half as the Bears went on to out-shoot the Aces, 14-5, in the second 45 minutes. In the 60th minute, the Bears found the back of the net as Aadne Bruseth made a run down the right side, crossing ball to Josh Dolling, who finished it to give the Bears a 1-0 advantage. Evansville provided a couple of heart-stopping moments in the final five minutes with Vivas curling a long shot that just missed the far post and Pablo Guillen recording a chance from the top of the box, but the Aces were unable to force OT as the Bears captured a 1-0 win.

Evansville goes back on the road on Wednesday for a midweek matchup with SIUE at 7 PM in Edwardsville, Ill.
 

• INFO: For all of the latest information on University of Evansville athletics, log on to the sport page on GoPurpleAces.com or follow the program on Twitter via @UEAthletics.

 

• TICKETS: To purchase tickets for University of Evansville athletics events, log on to GoPurpleAces.com and click on the TICKETS tab on top of the page

 

• SUPPORT: For information on giving to UE Athletics or its individual athletics programs, visit the SUPPORT tab on the top of GoPurpleAces.com.