The Basics

Score: Evangel 1, Saint Mary 1 | Box Score

Record: Evangel (0-1-1), Saint Mary (1-0-1)

Location: Leavenworth, Kan. (USM Charles Berkel Memorial Stadium)

LEAVENWORTH, Kan. – Valor Men's Soccer continued their road trip on Friday night when they took on the Spires of Saint Mary. Looking to end their losing streak of 17 games, the Valor took Saint Mary to the end, tying the game 1-1, showing great progress in the game.

Evangel began the game against Saint Mary the complete opposite of what they had against William Woods earlier this week. The Valor's offense was limited as they did not record a single shot in the first half. At the 20 minute mark of the game, Saint Mary's found their opportunity on just their second shot of the game to grab a 1-0 lead they took into halftime.

In the second half, the Valor began to gain offensive momentum and were able to keep the ball in the attacking zone long enough to make the Spires grow uncomfortable. After putting two shots on goal that were saved by the Saint Mary goalkeeper, Luis Schaffner-Albano made a nice through pass to Igor Ovcarevic that Igor would nail in the back of the net, giving Evangel their first goal of the season. After the goal, Evangel found life and grew much more aggressive on offense. The Valor continued to keep the ball in the attacking zone and nearly grabbed a late lead on a Junior Barboza shot that went just wide of the goal. As both teams battled to try to find the goal to break the tie, the clock hit zero and ended the game in a 1-1 tie.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Evangel recorded four shots, three of which were on goal.

• Ovcarevic leads Evangel with one goal on the season. Schaffner-Albano leads the Valor with a single assist.

• Anthony Morales finished the night with two saves.

QUOTABLE

"Our guys played really well tonight. We made an early mistake in midfield that allowed for the 1st goal, but our team held their composure and completely outplayed Saint Mary the remainder of the half. Our goal came off of an excellent build up play that was a nice feed by Luis to Igor for a world class goal," Men's Soccer Head Coach Kyle Beard stated. "As the game went on our guys really stepped up and played quality soccer. Matheus hit an amazing cross to Junior that he just barely missed late. We made really great progress to break the losing streak and now our men know what they are capable of."

UP NEXT

Evangel will continue their road trip next Tuesday (Sept. 6) at Harris-Stowe State in St. Louis, Mo., at 1:00 p.m.

For the latest information on Evangel Athletics, visit Facebook at Facebook.com/EvangelValor, Twitter (@EvangelValor), or EvangelAthletics.com. Fans can also receive updates on their favorite EU teams by downloading the Evangel Athletics Gameday App through the App Store or Google Play.  

—#OneValor—