SPRINGFIELD, MO. - Falling to a late penalty goal, the University of Evansville men's soccer team fell in heartbreaking fashion to 19th-ranked Missouri State on Sunday afternoon at Betty & Bobby Allison South Stadium in Springfield, Mo.

"It was a battle. Missouri State's a very good team and there's a reason they're ranked 19th in the country," said Aces head men's soccer coach Marshall Ray. "They were the better team, but we were able to fight back in it today and get ourselves to 1-1. The delay was difficult, but both teams had to go through it and we came back on the field and gave ourselves a couple decent chances on the break and on the counter to go up 2-1 and unfortunately gave up the PK late. The effort and the fight is there and now we've got to capitalize on that and come up with a result."

Evansville was forced to hold up strong against an aggressive offensive effort from the Bears. The Aces faced six total shots in the opening half, while recording just one shot of their own. In the midst of Evansville's strong defensive showing, the Bears got on the scoreboard first in the 18th minute. After a ball was dribbled into the box, the Aces attempted to clear the ball out of the box, but the clearance deflected off an Evansville player and into the back of the net.

Facing a similar challenge in the second half, Evansville was never daunted. Each chance from the Bears was countered with an attack from Evansville, which paid dividends for the Aces in the 64th minute. A throw-in from sophomore Ethan Garvey sailed into the top of the box and rattled between players. The ball took a bounce and freshman Pablo Guillen attacked, whipping a volley into the far post and tying the match at one.

With the game tied in the 67th minute, the game was delayed due to a lightning delay that lasted more than an hour. When the teams returned to the field, Evansville generated a couple chances to go in front. In the final minutes, Missouri State came dribbling into the box and was awarded a penalty in the 86th minute. The Bears Nicolo Mulatero stepped to the spot and finished, putting the Bears in front in a 2-1 win.

Missouri State out-shot the Aces, 11-2, but redshirt junior Matt Bryant was solid between the posts, making five saves.

The Aces next come home to face Bradley on March 22 at Arad McCutchan Stadium in Evansville.

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