MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Marquette defeated the Drake University women's soccer team, 3-0, Friday night at Valley Fields in Milwaukee. The road match was the final contest of a five-match road trip over preseason and start of the regular season for the Bulldogs. Drake finally plays at home when it hosts UMKC on Sept. 1.
"We are pleased to be done with our five-game road swing and look forward to our home opener," said head coach
Lindsey Horner. "We have been tested in several ways over the past five road games. At the moment, it might be hard for our players to see the growth when we don't get rewarded, but in the long run this game will serve us to get better."
Marquette (2-1), who held a 1-0 advantage at halftime, scored two goals right out of the break to grab control of the game. Drake was limited to 12 shots and three shots on goal with seniors
Kasey Hurt (Ankeny, Iowa),
Ali Smith (Lenexa, Kan.) and
Hannah Wilder (Wheatfield, Ind.) each recording one shot on goal and two shots each.
Darian Powell scored a pair of goals for the Golden Eagles with the first in the 23
rd minute (23:22) and the second in the 53
rd minute (53:46). Carrie Madden scored the other goal in the 46
th minute (46:55). Drake senior goalkeeper
Haley Morris (Clive, Iowa) allowed three goals and made six saves.
"We have the ability to be solid in the air, but tonight we conceded twice on restarts," Horner said. "Marquette is a strong side and will have a successful season. Games like tonight can accelerate our development, and I believe we have enough experienced players to drive us to get better and enough talented younger players that want to put their stamp on our program that after these five game experiences we have a snapshot of what we can accomplish with the right mentality to keep improving."
Following the road match at Marquette, Drake will have a week off before its home opener versus UMKC on Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. at the Cownie Soccer Complex.
