Men's Soccer Wins 5-2 Over Evansville

EVANSVILLE, Ind. - In the first road match of the 2016 spring campaign, the Louisville men's soccer team was able to find its offensive rhythm with goals from five different players in a 5-2 win at Evansville on Saturday.

The first goal came in the 21st minute as midfielder Daniel Johnson received a slotted ball from defender Jerry Ramirez at the top of the box. Johnson cut inside on to his right foot and curled his shot to the backside top corner. Then in the 26th minute, transfer Geoffrey Dee scored his first goal in a Cardinals uniform. Strong defensive pressure let to a misplayed ball from the Evansville goalkeeper. Dee was able to settle the ball quickly and slot the ball into the far corner, giving the Cards a 2-0 lead heading in to the half.

"It was a good day for us. We jumped out to a 2-0 lead at halftime, which was encouraging. I thought our defense was very good in the first half, as we created some good opportunities off our pressure," said Louisville head coach Ken Lolla. "It was a little bit of a disappointing start to the second half as we let them back in it, but we responded very well."

In the 53rd minute Evansville got on the board as a misplayed back pass was intercepted and capitalized on by the Purple Aces. The score line didn't remain that way for long as the Cardinals responded in the 64th minute. A broken up free kick in the final third for Louisville led to a dangerous, low driven cross by midfielder Grant Hollkamp to the top of the six-yard box. Midfielder Sawyer Edwards was streaking in the box and hit a one-time ball to the back post.

Perhaps the most dynamic moment of the match occurred on the Cardinals' fourth goal in the 83rd minute. Daniel Johnson and Ricardo Oliveros combined in the midfield on a nifty give and go that led to Johnson streaking down the left flank. Hollkamp came down the right flank with a charging run into the box, Johnson played a one-time ball across and Hollkamp finished strong on a one touch, low driven ball.

"We had some great moments in the final third that were encouraging, and we learned a lot about ourselves in the process. It was a good day for our program," said Cardinals assistant coach Kris Bertsch.

The final goal for the Cardinals came in the 89th minute when senior defender Jerry Ramirez earned a penalty kick. Defender Tim Kubel calmly and assertively finished the PK into the left side of the net for the final goal.

"It was great to win on the road as that was one of our challenges last fall," said Ramirez. "We need to improve on staying focused for 90 minutes but we learn and we move forward."

The Cardinals will round out the spring campaign with a road match against ETSU on April 9 and a home match against Michigan State on April 17.

Fans can follow Louisville men's soccer on Twitter (@UofLmenssoccer) at http://twitter.com/uoflmenssoccer and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/UofLmenssoccer.

2016 Louisville Soccer Season Tickets
Season tickets for Louisville's second season at Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium are now available. To obtain tickets for the 2016 soccer season, call Dan Cerwinske in the Louisville ticket office at (502) 852-0120.

University of Louisville Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Sawyer Edwards

Daniel Johnson

Tim Kubel

Ricardo Oliveros

Jerry Ramirez

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