The Basics

Score: Evangel 4, Mission 0 | Box Score

Record: Evangel (2-0-0), Mission (0-1-0)

Location: Springfield, Mo. (Coryell Field)

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Valor Men's Soccer played host to Mission University on Friday (Aug. 30) evening, looking to move to 2-0 on the year in front of their home crowd. A strong second half of play propelled EU to victory, 4-0, in full time.

Mission came out fast to open the contest, as the Patriots wanted to control the tempo of the game. After a pair of chances were stopped by Valor goalie Ryan Garner, Evangel found their first solid chance at the 29:00 minute mark, when Franco Cuevas fired a rocket of a shot that was stopped by the MU keeper. Just 10 minutes later, Caleb Kuchta also had an opportunity for goal, but was unable to get past the goalie, as both teams took a 0-0 tie into the halftime break.

It was clear that the Valor had refocused and readjusted during the halftime break, as the Evangel offense came out very aggressive to open the second half. Evangel was able to keep the Mission defense on their heels and a foul by a defender in the box granted Eneh Chibozor a penalty shot. Chib caught his bearings and nailed a shot high in the back of the net to open scoring, as EU took a 1-0 lead. 20 minutes later, Silas Grundtner added to the scoring, nailing his shot on the rebound of a Chris Tadeo shot. Evangel did not stop there as just over one minute into subbing into the game, Juyong Kim got an excellent pass from Igor Ovcarevic to score the first goal of his career, giving EU a 3-0 lead. Evangel's scoring was finished in the final 1:02 of play, as Caleb Kuchta found Chibozor who feigned and put a strong shot on goal that hit the top right corner of the goal, solidifying Evangel's 4-0 win on Friday night.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Evangel outshot Mission, 17-6, in the win on Friday.

• Eneh Chibozor scored goals two and three of the season in the win.

• Silas Grundtner and Juyong Kim both scored their first goals of the season in the second half of Friday night's victory.

QUOTABLE

"We had a hard fought game tonight. We were missing one of our team captains (Ted Okoroh) and we started a little flat. Mission came out fast and fought hard for every ball. Our guys had to really absorb pressure and contest every ball. They made us work for it. At half, we came together and really talked about keeping our heads and finding space to possess the ball and wait for the right opportunities. We also talked about fighting harder and playing harder. The men's mentality changed the minute they got back on the field in the second half." Men's Soccer Head Coach Kyle Beard stated. "They took control of the match and took advantage of the opportunities they were given. We have been working on our setpieces to try to perfect them and it was so good to get a score in the second half with a corner. After it bounced off of three heads, Silas pushed in and nailed it in the back of a net, a hard fought goal for him. Every goal after that was the same, fighting hard to win the position and taking advantage of an open space. I'm excited about moving forward knowing that this was a great learning lesson for us."

UP NEXT

Evangel Men's Soccer hits the road next Wednesday (Sept. 4) evening to take on UHSP at 7:00 p.m. in St. Louis, Missouri.

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.