Men’s Soccer: Offenses fire early and often as No. 16 UVU takes down Evansville

Photo by Lonna King

PEORIA, Ill.–The Utah Valley University men’s soccer team kicked off the Bradley University Tournament Friday with a 4-2 win over Evansville University. Skyler Milne and Paul Hoffmeister scored two goals apiece and both Evansville tallies were scored by Ian McGrath.

The shots were flying early in the match as Milne was able to get behind the defense and score his first goal of the season just over a minute into the first half with assists from Matt Gay and Gui Leme. The Wolverines weren’t able to relax for long, however, as Evansville came right back with a header from McGrath following a UVU foul in the 17th minute.

UVU was unrelenting in their attack, with a shot by Giovanny Vasquez hitting post on Evansville’s goal just over two minutes following the equalizer. Milne’s second goal of the match came on a header on the subsequent corner kick to give the Wolverines a 2-1 lead that held up until halftime.

The beginning of the second half was almost a mirror image of the first, as both teams came out of halftime with energy. Hoffmeister had a shot on goal less than three minutes into the period which was saved by Evansville goalkeeper Frederik Reimer. Just five minutes later Hoffmeister buried his second shot of the half from 18 yards out off the assist from Nic Harguindeguy to extend the UVU lead to 3-1.

That lead was short-lived when just two minutes later McGrath scored his second goal of the night, finishing off a loose ball that popped up to him on the edge of the box. The pendulum swung the other way and the Wolverines shut the door on Evansville not five minutes later when Hoffmeister scored his second of the night with passes coming from Aaron Meyer and Milne on the play.

UVU finished the match with 12 shots, five of them on goal. It was a bit of a rough outing for UVU goalkeeper Elliot Rubio as he finished with zero saves on three shots on goal, allowing both Evansville goals. The third Evansville shot on goal was saved by a defender. Evansville totaled 10 shots in the match.

The Wolverines will be back in action Sept. 4 when they take on tournament host Bradley University. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. MT.