SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The University of Evansville men's soccer team looks to extend its postseason run while taking on the top team in the country.
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#5 Evansville at #1 Missouri State | Wednesday, November 13Â | 6 PM CT |
Site | Location |
Betty & Bobby Allison South Stadium | Springfield, Mo. |
Links |
6 PM CT:  Live Stats | TV: ESPN+ |
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The Purple Aces stunned the 23rd team in the nation in the MVC Quarterfinals round with a 2-1 double overtime win over Western Michigan. As the fifth seed in the tournament UE played at WMU and handed the Broncos their first loss at home in 26 games since the 2022 season. Sunday's win was Evansville's first overtime win since 2017 when the Aces beat Loyola in the final game of the regular season in a 1-0 victory. UE last played an overtime game in March of 2021 before the NCAA eliminated overtime in the regular season during the 2022 season.Â
Evansville heads to number one seed Missouri State for the team's second-straight match against a ranked opponent for an MVC Semifinal match up. The Bears earned a bye in the first round of the MVC Tournament as the only team to not lose a game in conference play. Missouri State ended its season with a 1-0 win over the Drake Bulldogs to earn the number one seed. The Bears continue to be led by senior forward Jesus Barea who was named the MVC Player of the Year and Forward of the Year with 15 goals and three assists in 16 games. Missouri State sophomore midfielder Tyler Caton also earned postseason honors as the Co-Midfielder of the Year with four assists.Â
Freshman defender Martin Wurschdmidt (Fram, Norway) was Evansville's hero on Sunday scoring the golden goal in the 108th minute. It was his second goal of the year and second goal scored at WMU Soccer Complex. Fifth-year forward Kai Phillip (Diego Martin, Trinidad & Tobago) had the Aces tying goal in the 79th minute to send the match into overtime. Senior midfielder Jose Vivas (Teruel, Spain) has his second match in a row with two assists. Vivas was the primary assist on Wurschdmidt's golden goal and the secondary assist on Phillip's. Vivas was also named to the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week for his most recent performances.
Three UE players earned All-MVC honors. Senior forward Nacho Diaz Barragan (Almeria, Spain) and redshirt freshman midfielder Jacopo Fedrizzi (Guilia, Italy) were both named to the All-MVC Second Team. While freshman goalkeeper Michal Mroz (Elk Grove, Ill. / Elk Grove HS) was named to the All-MVC Freshman Team.