DES MOINES, IOWA ? The Drake men's soccer team used 29 players, for the second straight game, in its 5-0 romp past St. Ambrose in its exhibition home finale, Tuesday night at the Cownie Soccer Complex.
“Despite St. Ambrose's lack of preparation time I thought they pt up a good fight,” said Drake head coach
Sean Holmes. "We executed very cleanly and I was proud of the effort, especially our simplicity of play.”
The Bulldogs outshot the Fighting Bees 22-3, in a modified game format, playing three 30-minute periods instead of the usual 45-minute halves.
“In one very short week the boys have already began to understand the importance of working for each other and not trying to reinvent the wheel,” said Holmes.
Drake sophomore
Matt Kuhn (Raytown, Mo.) scored Drake's first goal in the ninth minute off a feed from
Ryan Moylan (Wauwatosa, Wis.) and
Brian Wurst (Kansas City, Mo.).
Freshman
Colin Lawter (Wichita, Kan.) scored Drake's second goal in the 41st minute (40:51) off a cross from
Tony Weber (Olathe, Kan.).
Evan Harrison gave Drake a three-goal lead in the 46th minute (45:33) when he took a cross from Ted Scliesman (Verona, Wis.) and one timed the pass into the goal.
Freshman
Nate Polak (Lincoln, Neb.) scored Drake's fourth goal in the 64th minute (63:05), unassisted inside the box. Polak led the Bulldogs with seven shots, five of which were on goal.
Schliesman scored Drake's final goal on a penalty kick in the 87th minute (86:14).
“After we took our first 11 out, it was a great opportunity for young players to prove that they could step in and be a part of the plan. The maturity that Ted Schliesman and
Phil Webber gave us was especially key. 18 year olds tend to be somewhat nervous and those upperclassmen lent a calming effect to the team,” added Holmes.
Lawter and Harrison each recorded three shots for Drake.
“If we continue to play as cleanly as we did tonight I think we could be a force to be reckoned with in the Valley,” commented Holmes.
For the second straight game all four goalkeepers on Drake's roster saw time in the net.
Michael Drozd (Hartwood Heights, Ill.) and
Jordan Kadlec (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) each logged 30 minutes between the pipes for the Bulldogs.