Box Score DENVER, Colo. - Opening its western road trip, the University of Evansville men's soccer team locked-in on defense and limited the Pioneers second-half opportunities, but were unable to equalize the match in a 1-0 loss on Friday night in Denver, Colo.

"We're a young team that's battling adversity right now. We got punched in the face by Denver and responded in the second half and made a game of it," said Aces head men's soccer coach Marshall Ray. "I'm proud of the way the guys fought and battled and we'll regroup and get ready for Air Force on Sunday."

The hosts owned much of the chances in the opening half, but it took both sides a while to fine their footing. The first shot of the contest did not occur until the 14th minute as the Pioneers had a shot blocked. Redshirt junior Jacob Madden looked strong between the posts for the Aces, turning away a couple of opportunities for Denver early on. With the half waning down, Denver jumped on the scoreboard with a goal by Trevor Right in the 41st minute as the Pioneers took a goal lead to the half.

Opening the second 45 minutes, the Aces attack paid off, generating five shots in the half's first 25 minutes, including a great set of opportunities in the 56th minute. Junior Carlos Barcia sent a shot towards goal that clipped the cross bar, and one minute later, senior Evan Dekker saw his shot saved in a good spell for Evansville. Following the Aces' string of shots, Denver responded with three shots of its own, two of which were saved by Madden.

The final 20 minutes of the match went by without much attack besides two shots from Denver as the Pioneers grabbed a 1-0 win in their home opener.

Evansville closes its Colorado road trip on Sunday at 2 PM against Air Force.
 

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