EVANSVILLE - For the second-straight match, the University of Evansville men's soccer team scored often in the opening half, en route to a 3-0 win over Incarnate Word on Friday afternoon in the opener of the Dayton Flyers Classic in Dayton, Ohio.

"I'm proud of our group today. Our staff's done a great job, Coach (Robbe) Tarver, Coach (Ethan) Getman, Coach (Wes) Hollifield, in getting our guys prepared and getting the scouts ready, and more importantly, as a team, we've done a good job of getting better each game, watching video of ourselves and trying to make changes that make a difference on the field, and today in the first half, I think that showed," said Aces head men's soccer coach Marshall Ray. "It's probably the best half we've played in some time. The second half was a grind; it was a scrap. It got a little chippy on both sides. Incarnate Word's a very good team that will never give up and they put us under pressure in the second half and were fighting for a goal from the first minute. We did a great job of staying within ourselves and staying composed and keeping a clean sheet and I think we could have done a little better job of dictating the pace of the game and keeping possession, but I'm never going to be upset with a group for getting a shutout and scoring three goals on the road. We're looking forward to Sunday. It's going to be a tough match against a very good opponent and we're going to have to put two halves together to get a result."

The attack was again powered by the Spanish trio of Jose Vivas, Carlos Barcia, and Nacho Diaz, who each found the back of the net on the day, continuing the streak to start the season with all eight UE goals in 2022 scored by student-athletes from Spain. In goal, it was another stellar performance by graduate keeper Alex Vidizzoni, who recorded his first shutout as an Ace, making four saves in the 3-0 victory.

Evansville wasted little time imposing itself in the match with Diaz and Barcia putting a combined three shots on frame inside the first 12 minutes action, but each was saved by Cardinals keeper Hugo Constant. The Aces found the breakthrough in the 19th minute when Evan Dekker found Jose Vivas who converted to give UE the lead at 1-0. Just over five minutes later, Barcia doubled the Evansville advantage with assists coming from Oliver Hald and Ethan Garvey. Capping-off an incredible opening half hour, Diaz continued his tear, scoring his fourth goal in three collegiate games, this time off assists from Barcia and Nkosi Graham.

The Aces showed poise in the second half, maintaining its three-goal advantage and holding UIW at bay as the two sides combined for just four shots in the final 45 minutes.

Evansville closes-out the Dayton Flyers Classic against host Dayton on Sunday at 4 PM (CT) as the Flyers enter the contest with a 3-0 record following a 5-0 win over Saint Thomas in the opening game of the classic. Sunday's match will be broadcast on ESPN+ and can be watched here.
 

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