DES MOINES, IOWA ? The Drake women's soccer team downed in-state rival Iowa State 2-1 in women's soccer exhibition action at Drake Stadium Saturday. It was the final tune-up match for the Bulldogs before opening regular season play on Friday (Aug. 31) at 6 p.m. against Northwestern at the Cownie Soccer Complex.

“Although this is an exhibition, its nice to know that we can compete with Big Ten and Big 12 teams,” said head coach Corbin Stone. “Exhibitions allow you the chance to experiment and play some players in different spots and see what works. So far our experiments have produced some good results.”

Sophomore Melissa Lewis (Edina, Minn.) scored Drake's first goal in the 38th (37:12) minute when she took a feed from freshman Bailey Dorrington (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) and senior Nikki Thaden (Clive, Iowa) and headed the ball into the goal.

“I have been impressed with our back four, we continue to sort out our shape in midfield and our forwards are getting better and better at creating chances,” added Stone. “We still need to get better in front of the goal. Against Minnesota we had three really good chances, today we had just as many looks at goal that should have been converted.”

Thaden assisted on the Bulldogs second goal in the 60th (59:37) minute when she kicked an indirect kick into the box where Sinead Brown (Toronto, Ontario) was waiting and scored the goal.

Senior Sarah Foote (Arvada, Colo.) led all players with three shots, two of which were on goal. The Bulldogs outshot the Cyclones 10-8 and took seven shots on goal compared to only three by Iowa State.

Jenny Schroeder (Albuquerque, N.M.) made two saves in goal for the Bulldogs. Erin Wittte scored Iowa State's only goal in the 73rd (72:45) minute to prevent the shutout.

“I am excited about our progress so far. I think the future looks bright as long as we can continue to come prepared for every game with the proper mentality. I wish I could say we will surprise some people this year, but a lot will have to depend on our consistency,” concluded Stone.

Lewis, Brown and sophomore Elizabeth Woerle (Coon Rapids, Minn.) each recorded two shots for Drake.