Box Score

EVANSVILLE, IN—Mark Anthony Gonzalez scored his fourth goal of the season, breaking a 1-1 tie in the 67th minute to push host Evansville past NJIT, 2-1, Friday on the rainy first night of the ProRehab Aces Soccer Classic.
 
All of the scoring took place inside a 15-minute span of the second half, with Evansville (4-2-1) breaking though in the 52nd minute on the first goal of the season for Patrick Hodges, assisted by Jared Robinson. NJIT (2-4-1) equalized at 59:12, when freshman Sven Beverst potted his second goal of the year (both in the last two games) with a team-leading second assist of 2013 by Marko Drljic. But Gonzalez netted what proved to be the game-winner at 66:05, heading the ball in from point blank range off of a cross from Dylan Terry.
 
It was third consecutive game-winning goal for Gonzalez, a sophomore named to the Missouri Valley Conference All-Freshman team in 2012. His run of game-winners has fueled a three-game winning streak for the Aces. Hodges, who scored the first Evansville goal, was honorable mention All-MVC last season.
 
Both goalkeepers went the distance, with Evansville's Eric Teppen, also All-MVC honorable mention in 2012, claiming Friday's win with four saves to go with the goal allowed. The Purple Aces' defense was also credited with a team save. NJIT freshman David Tuchinsky who had played one half and then one whole game without allowing a goal, was finally beaten twice on Friday, while also notching six saves.
 
The final totals showed Evansville with 21 shots overall to 17 for NJIT, while the Purple Aces held an 8-6 edge in on-frame tries in the tightly-contested match. Evansville had a 5-4 margin in corner kicks,
 
The first half was scoreless, as each team took eight shots and each keeper was forced to make three saves.
 
However, Evansville surged ahead in the seventh minute out of halftime, when Robinson dribbled into the box and centered to Hodges, who finished with a header from five yards out at 51:46.
 
The Highlanders got the goal back in the 60th minute, when Drljic fed Beverst, who beat Evansville's Teppen on a shot to the back post.
 
The game-winner for Evansville was another header, as Gonzalez nodded home Terry's pass 6:53 after Beverst and NJIT had drawn even.
 
Friday's defeat was the third this season for the Highlanders by a score of 2-1. Indeed all four NJIT losses have been by a margin of one goal. They also have a tie (vs. VMI) and a 1-0 win (vs. George Washington) to go with a 3-0 win against St. Bonaventure.
 
Two of NJIT's one-goal defeats came against nationally ranked teams. St. John's, ranked #19 nationally at the time, edged the Highlanders 2-1 on opening night, August 30. St. John's is now ranked #7.
 
And Fairleigh Dickinson, ranked 22nd in the NSCAA National Poll at the time, topped NJIT, 1-0, on September 11. Both losses were on the road.
 
Evansville isn't nationally-ranked at the moment, but the Purple Aces already own a 2-1 double overtime win on September 11 against Saint Louis, which was #6 in the nation before the loss. Saint Louis is still ranked at #10 in the latest poll, despite the loss. Evansville remains out of the Top 25, but is receiving votes.
 
The teams will have a day off before completing the ProRehab Aces Soccer Classic on Sunday. NJIT will take on Green Bay at noon, followed by Evansville vs. Eastern Illinois. Green Bay and Eastern Illinois played a 4-4 double overtime tie in Friday's other Classic matchup.
 
Green Bay is 3-2-2, including a 3-3 tie against Marquette, ranked twelfth in the nation at the time. The Green Bay Phoenix is an explosive side, already having generated three three-goal games to go with the four goals it tallied in Friday's tie. On the flip side, its defense has been touched for four goals twice and for three goals once.