EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville men's soccer team saw its season come to an end Wednesday night, falling 3-1 to No. 3 seed Western Michigan in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament semifinal at Arad McCutchan Stadium.
The Aces created an early opportunity in the third minute off a shot from Alejandro Fernandez and carried a 5-3 advantage in shots into halftime. Hugo Amo recorded the only save of the opening half in the 43rd minute to keep the match scoreless.
Evansville continued to generate chances to open the second half before breaking through in the 54th minute. Devin Shepherd played a beautiful ball through traffic from just outside the top of the box to Alex Tura, who finished into the right side of the net to give the Aces a 1-0 lead. The goal marked Tura's first of the season.
Western Michigan responded with a pair of goals in the 59th and 62nd minutes to take the lead before adding another in the 76th minute to extend its advantage to 3-1.
The Aces continued to press offensively, recording 15 shots in the second half, but were unable to find another goal as the Broncos secured their place in the MVC Tournament championship match.
Evansville finishes their season with a 7-9-2 overall record and a 5-1 mark in MVC play. In his fourth season at the helm, head coach Robbe Tarver led the Aces to their most conference victories since 2009 and their highest conference win percentage (.833) since 1991.
