EVANSVILLE - Behind an impressive defensive effort, the University of Evansville men's soccer battled Loyola Chicago to a scoreless draw on Saturday evening at Arad McCutchan Stadium in Evansville.

"A deserved point for the effort the guys put in this evening," said Aces head men's soccer coach Marshall Ray. "We regrouped from our trip out west and battled. We;re looking forward to getting another week of training in and heading to Missouri State."

For just the second time this season, Loyola was held scoreless with the Aces defense locking-in and eliminating many quality chances from the Ramblers. In goal, redshirt junior Jacob Madden posted his first shutout in white and purple, recording eight saves on 19 Loyola shots. Evansville's backline remained primarily intact for the entirety of the match with Ethan Garvey playing all 110 minutes, Raphaello Perez Colasito spending 105 minutes on the pitch, Oliver Hald playing 100 minutes, and Francesco Brunetti playing 89 minutes before going down with cramps.

Both defense won out in the opening 45 minutes as Loyola tallied four shots in the first half, putting two on-goal that Madden saved. The attack heated up in the second half with both sides generating opportunities. Evansville saw its best opportunity of the match come in the 77th minute as Filip Johansson dribbled 25 yards into the box without much pressure and fired a shot on target that Loyola keeper Marcel Kampman saved to preserve the scoreless match.

In all, Evansville recorded two shots in the second half with one on frame, while the Ramblers recorded 13 shots in the half, six of which were saved by Madden. 

Evansville controlled possession in the first overtime period, pushing the ball to the wings looking to whip the ball into the box, but Loyola's defense stayed discipline as neither side recorded a shot in the first extra 10 minutes. The second overtime period saw both teams generate more opportunities with three combined shots. The only shot on goal in the second overtime came from Pablo Guillen who looped in a shot from 30 yards out that sent the keeper back to the goal line before making the save.

Evansville goes back on the road on Saturday, September 25 with a 6 PM matchup against Missouri State in Springfield, Mo.
 

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