EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Hosting its first MVC Tournament match since 2018, the University of Evansville men's soccer team turned-up the attack in the second half, cruising to a 4-2 win over Drake in the quarterfinals on Tuesday at Arad McCutchan Stadium in Evansville, Ind.

"One game at a time. Great showing from the guys and a great response to going down a goal," said Aces head men's soccer coach Marshall Ray. "I thought we came out in the second half and executed our game plan and were able to open them up and create some opportunities. Fortunate to be up a man, but still had to make sure we got the chances and put them in the back of the net. Big day for Nkosi. A big thank you to all the students and the community that came out and support us today. Now we'll rest and get prepared for our next opponent on Friday. We look forward to heading to Springfield to compete in the semis of the Missouri Valley Conference Championship."

Junior Nkosi Graham stole the show on Tuesday afternoon, scoring twice and nearly adding a third in the postseason win, while freshman Edward Mendy found the back of the net for the first time in his collegiate career. In goal, redshirt junior Jacob Madden secured his fourth win of the season, making three saves on the day.

After an early chance for redshirt junior Jakub Hall, it was Drake who got off on the front foot in the match. Inside the first 10 minutes, the Bulldogs recorded four shots, including a pair on goal, but Madden made two saves to keep the match scoreless. A back-and-forth match in the early going, Evansville recorded a trio of shots just minutes later as the pressure increased from the Aces.

In the 23rd minute, a Drake player received a red card, leading to the Bulldogs playing with 10 men for the final 67 minutes in the match. Despite the disadvantage, it was the Bulldogs who scored first. In the 30th minute, the Bulldogs scored as a cross along the endline from Louis Yuill was clipped in by Juan Louis to give Drake the lead a third of the way through.

The Bulldogs' lead would last for just over 10 minutes before a tremendous run by Nkosi Graham resulted in a goal. Graham broke free of a defender down the right side and crossed a ball into the box that found freshman Jose Vivas. Vivas quickly put a shot towards goal that was blocked, but bounced free and Edward Mendy pushed the ball towards goal and found the back of the net to equalize the match at one at the half.

After an evenly played opening 45 minutes, the Aces took full control in the second half. 10 minutes into the second period, Evansville took the lead. Senior Raphaello Perez Colasito dribbled into the box and looked to send a cross to Graham, but a Drake defender slid in, flipping the ball towards goal and off the crossbar and in. From that point, the Aces were in full control. In the 64th minute, Graham scored his first of the game, taking advantage of a misplay by Drake's backline and finishing past the keeper to boos the Aces lead to two goals.

Just eight minutes later, it was Graham again who bolstered Evansville's advantage, scoring off an assist from sophomore Pablo Guillen for his second goal of the day. As the minutes waned, Drake pushed back within two with a late goal, but the Aces closed-out the match, earning the 4-2 win.

The four goals scored by the Aces were the most by Evansville in an MVC Tournament match since a 4-0 win over Tulsa in the MVC Tournament semifinals in 1995.

With a Bradley upset win of SIUE, the tournament will be reseeded with the Aces now facing No. 2 seed Loyola at 3 PM on Friday afternoon in Springfield, Mo. for the MVC Tournament semifinals.
 

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