Edin Sabic, Missouri State Bears (2012) Wins Header
Junior Gerard Barbero converted his second penalty kick in as many matches to put the Bears ahead in the 24th minute. Fellow junior Jordan Hoffman was taken down in the box to set up the penalty kick. OLE’s NOTE: the play began with a free kick just inside the offensive half. Gerard Barbaro put the ball to the far post on the edge of the six yard box and Heath Melugin won the battle with the keeper. The ball bounced near the penalty spot and Hoffman was first to the ball and as he turned inside, drew the foul.
The two squads battled back-and-forth the remainder of the half and Evansville ended up outshooting MSU seven to five at the break. The Purple Aces continued to press late into the second half, but still trailed 1-0.
In the 84th minute, senior Chad Johnson picked up a loose ball and dribbled into the box against the Evansville defender. At the last minute, he passed the ball to a streaking Heath Melugin, who beat the Aces keeper for his team-leading fifth goal of the year.
Missouri State would tack on another goal in the 90th minute when Hoffman picked off a defensive pass and walked in alone and buried the Bears’ third goal of the night. “Getting that first goal was huge for us,” said head coach Jon Leamy. “The goals haven’t come easy for us this season, so it was nice to see us finish some of those chances tonight.”
Senior goalkeeper Alex Riggs registered five saves in the shutout. It was his fifth shutout of the season and drops his goals against average to 0.77 on the season. “He (Alex Riggs) is playing really well right now,” commented Leamy after the shutout. “He has great composure back there and he just puts this team on his back.”
Missouri State will continue the home stand with its final nonconference opponent, Memphis, on Tuesday, October 26. The Bears will cap the home stand with conference rival Bradley on Saturday, October 30. Both matches begin at 7:00 p.m.
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