Box Score (PDF) | MVC Men's Soccer Championship Bracket

In Short…
Simon Waever found the back of the net with just over three minutes remaining in the first overtime to seal a 1-0 win for Evansville over the Loyola University Chicago men's soccer team this evening at Loyola Soccer Park.  With the win, Evansville moves to 10-8-1 on the year (3-4-1 MVC), while the Ramblers slip to 7-7-3 (3-4-1 MVC).
 
How It Happened
Following an emotional pregame ceremony in which the Ramblers honored their graduating seniors, both sides struggled to settle into a rhythm early on.  Sophomore Aidan Megally and junior Ryan Walker both misfired, respectively, inside the game's opening quarter of an hour before freshman Giann Magno was denied by Matthew Kelller, the Evansville goalkeeper, in the 26^th minute.  That would prove to be the only attempt on target of the opening stanza as Loyola and Evansville headed to halftime knotted up at 0-0.
 
Loyola came out of the intermission attacking, with both redshirt freshman Lucas Bartlett and senior Elliot Collier seeing their respective attempts blocked away inside the 18-yard box. The Rambler defensive continued to impress at the other end of the field as it to kept the Purple Aces' attack quiet entering the closing stages of regulation.
 
With time winding down, the Maroon & Gold unleashed a late barrage of attempts on the Evansville net.  Keller came up with back-to-back saves on shots by freshman Lucas Imrie and junior Fabian Lifka over a two-minute span.  The Purple Aces' netminder added stops of junior Alec Lasinski and redshirt junior Grant Stoneman to ultimately force overtime.
 
Evansville cashed in for the game's deciding goal in the 97^th minute of play through the duo of Waever and Adam Snow.  Snow dashed through the midfield before sending a pass into the box that connected with a streaking Waever, who slotted home at the far post to clinch a 1-0 victory for the visitors.
 
Looking At The Numbers
- Loyola finished the evening with a 15-9 edge in shots and put seven of its attempts on target.
- Imrie came off the bench to fire a game-high three shots, two of which were on goal.
- Keller turned in a standout performance in goal to lead the Purple Aces, finishing with seven saves.
 
Up Next
Loyola and Evansville will meet again on Wednesday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the 2017 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Soccer Championship.  The fourth-seeded Ramblers and fifth-seeded Purple Aces are scheduled to kickoff at 3 p.m. from Shea Stadium in Peoria, Ill.