EVANSVILLE - In a season unlike any other in program history due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Evansville men's soccer team closes-out the regular season at 6 PM on Thursday against Drake in a Missouri Valley Conference matchup at Arad McCutchan Stadium.
 

Evansville vs. Drake | 6 PM  | April 8
Date | Time	Thurs., April 8 | 6 PM
Location	Evansville, Ind.
Site	Arad McCutchan Stadium
Thurs., April 8	Evansville vs. Drake
Follow Along	Live Stats | ESPN3
Evansville	Men's Soccer Site | Twitter | Game Notes

Last Time Out: Loyola Chicago 3, Evansville 0

• In its final road game of the season, the University of Evansville men's soccer team fell to Loyola Chicago, 3-0, on Sunday afternoon at Loyola Soccer Park in Chicago.
• "Loyola has done a good job in the past of protecting their home field and they did that again today," said Aces head men's soccer coach Marshall Ray. "We didn't respond well to an early mistake and Loyola capitalized on our indecisiveness. We've got to regroup and prepare for Thursday night against Drake who currently sits in second and comes to Evansville and we feel like we've got an opportunity to get a result."
• Loyola's attack got rolling early as the Ramblers found the back of the net twice inside the game's first 16 minutes. In the the 13th minute, Loyola's Billy Hency opened the scoring with a goal coming off a stolen pass that was dribbled into the 18 and slipped past Aces keeper Matt Bryant.
• Three minutes later, the Ramblers scored their second as Hency contributed again, crossing a ball into the box and finding Fabian Becerra, who finished it.
• Evansville had some chances in the 24th minute, generated by freshman Pablo Guillen. In a span of 13 seconds, Guillen recorded three shots, beginning with a free kick that was blocked by the wall. Guillen quickly collected the rebound and fired a shot that was again blocked as the wall dissolved.
• After the Aces gathered that rebound, the ball was distributed back to Guillen whose cross was deflected and who ended the spell with a shot that missed wide.
• In the 29th minute, Hency added a brace, scoring his second goal of the match, dribbling into the box and finishing into the side netting to give the Ramblers a 3-0 lead at the half.
• Evansville's defense improved in the second half, specifically due to Bryant's effort in goal. The redshirt junior made four saves in the second half and held the Ramblers from adding to their total as Loyola earned the 3-0 win.

Previewing the Matchup: Drake

• Evansville and Drake are meeting for the 37th time in the all-time series with the Bulldogs owning an 19-15-2 advantage in the series.
• The Aces and Bulldogs met earlier this season on March 26 as Drake captured a 2-1 victory at home.
• The last time Evansville met Drake at Arad McCutchan Stadium came on October 19, 2019, as the Aces suffered a 2-0 loss to the Bulldogs.
• Drake has won three-straight matches in the series and four of the last five with its lone loss during that stretch coming to the Aces in Evansville on Oct. 13, 2018 on a game-winning goal in th 89th minute.
• Four of the last six games in the series have been shutouts for the winning side.
• Drake enters the weekend with a 4-2-1 overall record having won back-to-back matches. All seven matches for the Bulldogs have come in Conference play.
• After not scoring in its first two matches of the season, Drake's offense has turned-up the heat here over the last five matches. 
• With the Aces loss to Loyola on Sunday, Evansville was mathematically eliminated from the MVC Championship. Drake comes into the weekend sitting in a tie with Loyola for second in the Conference standings with both teams holding a 4-2-1 record in Valley play. The Bulldogs own the tiebreaker over the Ramblers having a 1-0-1 record over Loyola this season.

Graham Excels in Valley Play

• Competing in his second collegiate season, sophomore Nkosi Graham has begun to hit his stride in MVC play this year.
• In two non-conference games, Graham recorded just one shot.
• In the seven MVC games since, Graham has recorded 15 shots, including a career-high four shots twice.

Bryant's Home is the Road

• Redshirt junior goalkeeper Matt Bryant has made road matches his home away from home between the posts.
• In his career, Bryant has played in 10 matches, making six starts, and spending 675 minutes on the pitch for the Aces.
• Oddly, none of Bryant's career starts have occurred at Arad McCutchan Stadium.
• Also, Bryant has played just 54 minutes in his career in goal at McCutchan, while spending 621 minutes between the posts for Evansville on the road.

 

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