EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Sitting in first place in the MVC standings with three conference matches remaining, the University of Evansville men's soccer team returns home on Friday to host the Bradley Braves. The Purple Aces will celebrate Senior Night with a pregame ceremony, honoring 9 student-athletes - Hugo Amo, Nacho Diaz-Caneja, Tancredi Fadda, Nacho Garcia, Kobe Grant, Matt Hawkins, Kyle Penders, Nate Roberts, and Nalu Wagner.
Last Time Out
Facing a 2-1 deficit with five minutes remaining in the match on Saturday night, Evansville's Andres Escudero (San Sebastián de los Reyes, Spain/IES Joan Miro) netted his second goal of the night to help the Purple Aces secure a draw at UIC and remain atop the MVC table. The brace was Escudero's third of the season, making him one of two freshmen in the country with three braces this season and the first UE freshman with three braces in a season since Nacho Diaz Barragan in 2022.
The night began with both sides feeling each other out early, as neither team put a shot on goal in the first 37 minutes. Evansville's Pablo Calvete (Ponferrada, Spain/UNIR) almost opened the scoring in the 33
rd minute, but his shot went just high of the crossbar. Michal Mroz (Elk Grove, Ill./Elk Grove) was challenged for the first time in the 37
th minute, collecting his first save.
Despite a quiet first 39 minutes of action, play ratcheted up quickly in the 40
th minute. UIC struck first, using a header to find the night's first goal. However, Evansville quickly pieced together an attack following the kickoff, with Calvete finding Escudero near the top of the box. From there, Escudero took a touch and ripped a left-footed strike near the penalty spot, finding the bottom left corner of the goal for his seventh goal of the season and tying the match at 1-1.
After the match went into halftime tied at one, the Flames were quick to strike in the second period, taking the lead back with a goal in the 51
st minute.
Evansville searched for the equalizer throughout the next 35 minutes, tallying four shots. In the 62
nd minute, Escudero nearly tied the score at two, but his shot hit both the crossbar and the far post to deny the Aces.
However, the Flames were unable to keep the Purple Aces' freshman at bay, as Escudero collected a long ball in from Martin Wurschmidt (Stavern, Norway/Thor Heyerdahl VGS) on the left side of the six in the 85
th minute and buried a shot into the bottom right corner to equalize. With the goal, Escudero became one of 12 players in the country this season with three games scoring two goals or more.
Series History
Saturday marks the 31st all-time meeting between Evansville and Bradley. Although the Braves hold an 18-9-4 advantage in the series, the Aces have won the last two meetings, including a 2-0 win in Peoria last season.
Scouting Bradley
Bradley comes into Friday's match with a 2-7-5 record and a 0-3-1 mark in MVC play. The last time out for the Braves came last Saturday, dropping a 3-2 decision to Western Michigan.
Follow Along
Friday's match will be streamed live on ESPN+. Live stats are available at GoPurpleAces.com.
