Northwestern Rallies to Defeat Evansville, 2-1

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Evansville grabbed an early lead Friday night, but Northwestern answered with two unanswered goals to hand the Purple Aces a 2-1 loss at McCutchan Stadium.

Evansville opened the scoring in the 23rd minute. After Northwestern was whistled for a foul in the penalty area, Pablo Calvete stepped to the spot and converted the penalty kick at the 22:46 mark, giving the Purple Aces a 1-0 advantage.

Northwestern found its equalizer late in the opening half. Seth Mahlmeister had his initial attempt saved by Evansville goalkeeper Hugo Amo, but Tyler Glassberg capitalized on the ensuing opportunity and scored at 40:58. Mahlmeister was credited with the assist as the Wildcats pulled even at 1-1 heading into halftime.

The match remained tied for most of the second half before Northwestern finally broke through in the 82nd minute.

Evrit Fisher scored the eventual game-winner at 81:27, with Bryant Mayer and Tre Barrett picking up assists, putting Northwestern ahead 2-1.

Evansville actually finished with a 14-12 advantage in total shots, but Northwestern held an 8-7 edge in shots on goal. The Wildcats also generated nine corner kicks compared to six for the Purple Aces.

Northwestern goalkeeper Dominic Pereira made six saves while allowing only Calvete’s penalty kick. Amo also recorded six saves for Evansville.

The victory keeps Northwestern unbeaten at 2-0-1 on the season, while Evansville drops to 0-3-0.