SPRINGFIELD – A penalty kick in the late stages of the match boosted No. 19 Missouri State to a 2-1 win over Evansville here Sunday afternoon at Betty and Bobby Allison South Stadium.
 
Following a one-hour lightning delay, Nicolo Mulatero connected on his second PK goal of the year in the 85th minute to seal the Bears' fourth straight victory.
 
The Bears (4-0-0-, 3-0-0 MVC) controlled the pace for most of the first half, owning a 6-1 advantage in both shots and corner kicks in the opening period.  Jack Denton almost struck gold in the early going as he took a free kick from the edge of the box that caromed off the top of the crossbar.
 
In the 17th minute, it was pressure from Jesus Barea that led to a frenzy inside the Purple Aces box where the ball ricocheted off the UE defender and slipped into the net for an own goal that provided MSU a 1-0 cushion.
 
With just two shots in the match, Evansville (0-5-0, 0-3-0 MVC) made the most of a rare scoring opportunity in the 63rd minute after a throw-in deep into the Bears' defensive territory set the table for its goal.  The throw from the sideline settled to the foot of Pablo Guillen and the Purple Aces midfielder fired the equalizing goal before the weather sent both teams to the locker room to wait out the delay.
 
After the restart, it was a breaking run from Barea inside the box that set up Mulatero's game-winner as the freshman forward was pulled to the ground to earn the penalty.
 
Josh Dolling had three shots in the match while Mulatero and Kyle Hiebert chipped in two apiece.  Dolling sent all three of his towards goal that were collected by UE goalkeeper Matt Bryant for three of his five saves while defender Hiebert came up for the corner set-pieces and had a pair of headers miss wide.
 
Missouri State heads back out on the road on Thursday, March 18 with a match against Bradley at 6 p.m.