Bradley Rallies for 2-1 Win at Evansville Saturday Night

October 29, 2011

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Bradley senior midfielder Keith Mach scored from more than 30 yards out in the 78th minute, helping the visiting Braves (11-4-2, 3-2-0 MVC) rally for a 2-1 Missouri Valley Conference men’s soccer victory Saturday night at Evansville (5-9-1, 0-4-1 MVC).

Bradley’s second straight Valley victory moves the Braves into a 3-way tie for second in the MVC standings with Drake and Missouri State, all three points behind Creighton, which earned a 3-0 win against Central Arkansas Saturday night to move atop the league standings. Bradley, which overcame a 1-0 halftime deficit, also played its 16th consecutive game decided by no more than one goal and improved to 10-4-2 in the stretch of tight games.

Evansville outshot Bradley, 17-6, for the game and used a 9-1 first-half advantage in shots to take a 1-0 lead into the intermission. Alex Kapsalis took a cross from Jesse Sharp and and beat Bradley keeper Brian Billings for his first goal of the season at 24:26.

Despite Evansville’s first-half dominance, Bradley wasted little time pulling even in the second half. Following a Bradley corner kick, freshman Desmond Campbell sent a cross from the left flank into the penalty area, where sophomore forward Wojciech Wojcik got just enough on a loose ball to beat Evansville keeper Eric Teppen for the tying goal at 51:38 and his third tally of the season.

With Billings called upon to make just one save in the second half, the game remained tied until Mach lofted his shot from 32 yards out for the game-winning goal at 77:34.

While the Braves limited Evansville to just one second half shot on goal, Bradley’s two goals came on its only two shots on goal of the game.

Bradley will play its third game in six days when the Braves host Oral Roberts Monday night at Shea Stadium. The 8 p.m. non-conference tilt will be the regular-season home finale and Bradley’s eight seniors will be honored in a pregame ceremony on Senior Night.

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