SPRINGFIELD, MO. ? The Drake men's soccer team ended the regular season with a 3-1 Missouri Valley Conference setback to host Missouri State Saturday night. With the loss the Bulldogs fell to 9-5-4 overall, including a 2-2-2 conference mark.
“Tonight, we were ultimately very good or very bad,” said Drake head coach Sean Holmes. “The strong winds and the quick field means the game was played mostly in one half. We started out well and had a couple of sure goals saved by their very good goalkeeper Lance Parker. The longer the game went and the more we chased the result the more counter attacks we gave up."
The Bulldogs' lone goal came in the 86th minute (85:06) when freshman Matt Kuhn (Raytown, Mo.) took a pass from freshman Ted Schleisman (Verona, Wis.) and fired the ball into the net from 20-yards out.
“One of our quests this year has been to convert our possessions and opportunities into goals,” said Holmes. “Quite frankly that has been a major frustration for us. We have trumpeted the virtues of our younger players but at crunch time in November it is the upperclassmen who need to lead us.”
Johannes Demarzi scored the Bears' first goal in the 23rd minute (22:34). Kyle Windmueller had a hand in every goal Missouri State scored, recording an assist on both the first and third goals and notching his own tally in the 67th minute (66:12).
Chad Johnson capped off the Bears attack with a breakaway goal in the 82nd minute. (81:07)
Drake took only five shots in the first half to Missouri State's nine, but fired off 10 shots in the second half to even the shot tally at 15. The Bulldogs took nine shots on goal, while the Bears managed only six.
Drake senior Phillip Breuer (Port Washington, Wis.) made three saves in goal for the Bulldogs while Lance Parker made eight saves for Missouri State.
Sophomore Garrett Webb (Prairie Village, Kan.) and Kuhn each had three shots to lead the Bulldogs.
“Losing Keith Gorczyca minutes before kickoff unsettled our team. For us to be effective in the tournament our back four have to be more cohesive, our midfield has to work harder without the ball and Garrett Webb must play simpler and faster out front,” concluded Holmes.
Drake will await the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championship bracket to learn who they will play in the opening round of tournament action on Wednesday in Omaha, Neb.
