EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Facing a first half deficit, the University of Evansville men's soccer team scored twice in the final 45 minutes to secure a 2-1 road victory over SIUE on Saturday afternoon in Edwardsville, Ill.

"We came out a bit slow today and they were all over us. It was a bit sloppy, but credit to the guys, we made a couple of changes and we played a lot of bodies today. Ethan (Garvey) was out of the game following an injury and we moved some guys around and the guys responded and never gave up and showed a lot of battle in the second half. It's a really good result on the road to come-from-behind and win 2-1 after being down," said Aces head men's soccer coach Marshall Ray. "Look forward to a little rest. We've had a long stretch of games, but ready to get back at it next Sunday and looking forward to hosting Drake for Senior Day."

On the attack, sophomore Jose Vivas helped orchestrate Evansville's success on the afternoon. Vivas helped tie the match with a goal on a PK and put the Aces in front with a picture-perfect cross into the box that was finished and proved to be the game-winner. The aforementioned match-winning goal was scored by junior Kai Phillip, who recorded his fourth goal of the season in the victory. Between the posts, graduate Alex Vidizzoni made four saves and picked-up his fifth win of the season in goal.

SIUE jumped on the scoreboard quickly to start the match and put Evansville under pressure early. The Cougars found the opener inside the match's first 10 minutes as a ball played into the box was clipped in by Oskar Lenz to give SIUE the advantage. Evansville would go on to generate its fair share of opportunities, but in the first half, SIUE held a 6-3 advantage in shots as the Cougars took their one-goal lead to the break.

Helping to shape the rest of the match, SIUE had a player sent off in the 54th minute, reducing the home side to just 10 men for the remainder of the match. Evansville showed a new energy in the second 45 and it showed as the Aces created a chance in the 71st minute. Vivas made a run into the box and just before he reached the endline was brought down, earning Evansville a PK. Vivas smashed the penalty past the SIUE keeper tying the match at a goal each. Just seven minutes later, it was Vivas again creating chances as the sophomore crossed the ball into the box, finding Phillip who calmly finished into the back of the net as the Aces grabbed the 2-1 comeback victory.

Evansville gets a much appreciated eight days of rest before welcoming Drake to Arad McCutchan Stadium on Sunday, October 23 at 2 PM for Senior Day.
 

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