EVANSVILLE, Ind. ? Evansville junior Mia Tofano scored in the 68th minute for the only goal in the Purple Aces' 1-0 victory over the Creighton women's soccer team in Missouri Valley Conference action Friday night. The preseason MVC favorites improved to 10-3-3 overall and 3-1-2 in the MVC, while the Bluejays fell to 8-7-1 and 2-2-1.
The teams played to a scoreless first half, as Creighton narrowly outshot the Purple Aces, 7-6. Junior Marcy Gans attempted three shots in the first period for the Bluejays. CU goalkeeper Kristen Casey recorded three first-half saves.
Tofano's sixth goal of the season came at the 67:07 mark, as she sent a 12-yard blast to the top-right corner to put Evansville on top. The Purple Aces were able to hold on the rest of the way to secure their 10th victory of the campaign.
Evansville finished with a 16-14 edge in shots, after holding a 10-7 advantage in the second half. Gans led Creighton with four shots in the match, followed by freshman Emily Orbell with three. Tafano and Kayla Lambert each had four shot attempts in the match for Evansville.
Casey finished the night with six saves, moving into fifth all-time at CU with 142 career rejections. Evansville goalkeeper Theresa Bagby picked up her sixth shutout of the season. She made two saves in the match, both in the first half, as Creighton could not direct a shot on goal in the second stanza.
“For the first 30 minutes, we controlled the game but couldn't put away a goal,” said head coach Bruce Erickson. “The second half was a dogfight and we didn't do enough to come away with a decision.”
“I'm disappointed with the outcome, but was happy with the effort,” said Erickson. “We played well enough to win.”
The Bluejays will conclude the regular season at home on Sunday against Northern Iowa at 12 noon. Creighton's six seniors will be honored before the match as part of Senior Day at Morrison Stadium.
