Evansville’s Tom Irvin scored in the 13th minute and the Purple Aces were able to hold on for a 1-0 Missouri Valley Conference victory over the Missouri State men’s soccer team, Wednesday night in Evansville, Ind. Junior Ryan Anderson fired five of MSU’s 10 shots, including one on goal, but the Bears came up empty handed to drop their first conference match of the season. The Bears are now 7-5-3 overall and 2-1-1 in the MVC, while Evansville moves to 8-5 and 1-2.
The teams finished nearly even in the stat column. The Purple Aces narrowly outshot Missouri State, 11-10, and held a 4-2 edge in shots on goal. Junior goalkeeper Lance Parker had three saves for the Bears, while Evansville’s Alec Dufty turned back two MSU shots. Freshman Will Ziegahn fired two shots, including one on goal, while juniors Brett Williams and Yanik Joseph added one and two shots, respectively.
The 1-0 decision marks the fourth time the Bears have been defeated by that margin this season. Missouri State falls to 2-5 in matches decided by one goal. Evansville revenged a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of the Bears a season ago in Springfield.
Missouri State will return to Plaster Field for its final home match of the season on Saturday, Oct. 14, against Western Kentucky University (4-6-3, 0-1-2 MVC) in a 7 p.m. start. The Bears will honor seniors Justin Douglass, Brian Pasierb, and Kyle Hopson as they play their final home match at MSU.
