Evansville, Ind. - Freshmen Diego Gonzalez and Ebenezer Mengistu tallied goals in the 39th and 57th minutes to lift the Fighting Leathernecks over the Evansville Purple Aces in a nonconference match Tuesday evening (Nov. 1).

Western improves to 10-5-1 overall on the year with the victory, while Evansville drops to 5-10-1.

"It was great to see our freshmen step up with our three starting defensemen not playing," said head coach Eric Johnson. "They played a really nice match and scored two nice goals."

There were not many shots in the first-half, but Western freshman Diego Gonzalez made the most of his opportunity, netting his third goal of 2011 in the 39th minute to give the Leathernecks a 1-0 lead heading into the break. Gonzalez finished upper left after receiving the set-up from sophomore midfielder Drew Edmond.

Western picked up where they left off early in the second when freshman Ebenezer Mengistu recorded his first collegiate goal in the 59th minute. Junior Matt Carlson assisted on the goal; his second assist of the season.

Evansville finished with nine shots, two more than the Leathernecks. The Purple Aces had four shots on goal, while Western finished with three.

Senior goalkeeper Andy Ryan stopped all four of Evansville's shots on goal, picked up his eighth shutout of 2011, and improved his record to 10-4-1 on the season.

The Fighting Leathernecks (10-5-1, 4-1 Summit League) will play their final 2011 Summit League match Saturday at Oral Roberts (5-10-1, 2-2-1 Summit League). The league-match is slated for a 2 p.m. start.