EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville men's soccer team opened Missouri Valley Conference play with a 1-0 victory over Drake on Saturday night at Arad McCutchan Stadium.
The first half remained scoreless, with Evansville recording two shots, both coming from Alejandro Fernandez. The Aces' defense held Drake to five shots in the opening half, with just one on target, which was saved by Hugo Amo.
Evansville created its first scoring chance of the second half in the 51st minute when Carlos Iglesias put a shot on goal that was saved by the Drake goalkeeper. Fernandez followed with another shot on target in the 63rd minute, but the Bulldogs' goalkeeper came up with another save.
The Aces broke through two minutes later. In the 65th minute, Amo sent a long ball downfield to Devin Shepherd, who played it forward to Iglesias. Iglesias converted into the left-side of the net for his first career goal, giving Evansville a 1-0 lead.
Drake recorded six shots over the final 25 minutes, but Evansville's defense held strong. The Bulldogs put one shot on goal during that stretch in the 89th minute, but Amo made the save to preserve the shutout. Amo finished with two saves and recorded his third clean sheet of the season.
"Tonight was a dog fight. Every time you play Drake it's going to be hard. Super proud of us to be resilient, to respond, to bounce back after what's been a couple tough results. Hopefully that sets us up for the rest of conference play," head coach Robbe Tarver said following the win.
With the win, Evansville improves to 2-5-2 on the season and 1-0-0 in MVC play. The Aces return to action on Tuesday, Oct. 6, traveling to Cincinnati, Ohio to face Xavier.
