EVANSVILLE - Sophomore forward Jose Vivas scored a 75th minute winner to lead the University of Evansville men's soccer team to a 1-0 win over SIUE in the Missouri Valley Conference Championship quarterfinals on Sunday afternoon at Arad McCutchan Stadium in Evansville.

Vivas got on the board for the fourth time this season with his late second half goal, giving the Spaniard his second game-winning goal of the season. For the seventh time this year, graduate goalkeeper Alex Vidizzoni shutout his opponent, moving him into a tie for seventh in single-season shutouts.

The opening half featured an eager Evansville side taking control possession as the Aces out-shot the Cougars, 9-4, in the first 45 minutes. Inside the first 10 minutes, Vidizzoni was forced to make one of his four saves, stopping a shot from SIUE's Myles Sophanavong in the ninth minute. Evansville created a string of opportunities near the quarter-hour mark of the first half, generating four corner kicks and recording three shots. One of those shots, coming off the head of senior Evan Dekker, appeared to have given the Aces the early lead, but was ruled to have been cleared off the line by a Cougar defender. The 24th minute saw another chance on-frame from Evansville as senior Ethan Garvey sent a shot on-goal that forced a save from SIUE keeper Sam Gomez. In the three minutes before the break, Evansville recorded three more chances, two coming from freshman Ola Arntsen, but the Aces could not get their breakthrough before the halftime whistle.

After controlling much of the possession in the opening 45 minutes, Evansville came rolling out of halftime and took control to the tune of another 9-4 advantage on shots. Senior Carlos Barcia tested Gomez in the 47th minute with a shot that the Cougar keeper saved. The Aces put two more shots on target in the 71st minute, but it would take four more minutes before Evansville was delivered its well-earned breakthrough. On another corner, Barcia slipped a cross in to Vivas just inside the 18 and the forward quickly struck the ball, going for the top center of goal and finding the back of the net to provide Evansville with a 1-0 lead. Following the opening goal, Evansville locked-in defensively, preventing the Cougars from any opportunities as the Aces secured the win to advance to the MVC Championship semifinals.

The Aces will continue their postseason journey against No. 5 seed Belmont on Thursday afternoon at 3 PM in Springfield, Mo.
 

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