NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Evansville men's soccer team was impressive in its preseason opener, as the Purple Aces posted a 3-0 win over Belmont Friday night in Nashville, Tenn.
 
Evansville attempted just six shots to Belmont's 12, but the Aces were true on half of their attempts.  Junior goalkeeper Eric Teppen turned away five Bruin shots and the UE defense successfully defended eight corner kicks to record the clean sheet.
 
"Our guys played really hard on both sides of the ball, and were rewarded with a positive result," head coach Mike Jacobs said.  "We had the chance to play a lot of different players and each had solid performances.  We were very stingy defensively to walk away with a well-earned shutout."
 
Junior Patrick Hodges gave Evansville a 1-0 lead in the 38th minute, finishing a pair of passes from senior Brandon Causey and fellow junior Charlie Macias.  Following a foul by Belmont, Causey delivered a free-kick pass to Macias, who sent in a cross to Hodges.  Hodges then finished the chance for the first goal of the match.
 
The Bruins outshot the Aces, 6-2, in the opening frame and earned six corner kicks to UE's two, but Evansville took a 1-0 lead into halftime.
 
In the second half, the Aces once again took advantage of a set piece opportunity to double their lead.  Causey collected his third point of the game by finishing a corner kick from sophomore Faik Hajderovic in the 59th minute to put UE in front 2-0.
 
Sophomore Mark Anthony Gonzalez added an insurance goal in the final minute of the match to make the final score 3-0, when he took a pass from junior Felipe Cortez, beat a Bruin defender and buried a shot from 18 yards out.
 
Junior Joel Craig led Evansville's offense with two shots and was the only UE player to fire multiple attempts.  Four different Belmont players each took two shots apiece and four others recorded an attempt.
 
"We created a lot of scoring chances, and if we would have executed in the attacking third, we could have finished with five or six goals," Jacobs said.  "All in all, there were a lot of positives to draw from and build on as we head into the start of the regular season."
 
Nineteen players appeared on the pitch for the Aces, while 20 different Bruins saw action on the exhibition contest.
 
Evansville will close its exhibition slate Sunday at 5 p.m., when it hosts Indianapolis at Arad McCutchan Stadium.