DES MOINES, IOWA - Drake freshman forward Hunter Kennedy (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Cedar Valley Christian) scored two goals in his college debut to power the Drake men's soccer team to a 2-0 victory past Milwaukee in the Drake Classic on Saturday night (Aug. 30) at Cownie Soccer Complex.
The win vaulted the Bulldogs into the championship match at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday (Aug. 31) against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, which clipped Missouri State, 1-0, in the tournament's first contest.
The Panthers nearly got on the board in the 18th minute (17:07) as Peter Sanger fired a shot that appeared headed in net before a sliding Brian Wurst (Kansas City, Mo./Park Hill South) deflected the ball out just before it crossed the goal line.
Kennedy notched his first collegiate goal at the 31:05 mark heading in a free kick from senior Kevin Shrout (Lee's Summit, Mo./Lee's Summit) to give Drake a 1-0 advantage.
The lead grew to 2-0 on Kennedy's second tally of the evening in the 73rd minute (72:48) as he took a give and go from junior Garrett Webb (Prairie Village, Kan./Shawnee Mission East) and beat Milwaukee goalkeeper Grant Fernstrum.
Kennedy nearly registered the hat trick as his shot in the 81st minute (80:08) hit the far right post before bounding out of the box.
"I think Garrett Webb (the team's leading scorer last year) presents such a physical challenge to our opponents we play that hard-working teammates who play along side him really benefit,” Drake head coach Sean Holmes said. “Hunter is such a tremendous athlete. He spent much of the preseason a little confused but in the last couple days of practice he has really exploded.”
The Bulldogs had two goals called back in the contest due to offsides calls.
Drake played the game without one of its best defenders in junior Calvin Clark (Overland Park, Kan./St. Thomas Aquinas), who was forced to sit out the match after getting a red card in the season finale last year.
“I was really, really pleased with the win because one of our most composed defenders (junior Calvin Clark) had to sit out this match after getting a red card with six minutes left in our last game last year,” Holmes said. “We had to make some adjustments in his absence. So to get a shutout without one of our best defenders and with a goalie (Michael Drozd) making his college start debut was really satisfying.”
Sophomore goalkeeper Michael Drozd (Hartwood Heights, Ill./Loyola Academy) posted seven saves in his collegiate debut.
“Drozd is very athletic and very competitive and in the two years he had to wait around for his chance to start he didn't feel sorry for himself,” Holmes commented.
The Drake Classic is the first tournament the Bulldog men's soccer program has ever hosted in their 23-year history.
“This is our first tournament in program history and I think guys who deserve a citation are Julien Edwards and Kevin Shrout, they were tremendous,” Holmes commented. “Whatever subs we brought on kept adding had positive impact.”
This was only Drake's third win in 14 matches against Milwaukee, while marking second time in three years Drake has won its season opener at home with a shutout, the last time coming in 2006 (3-0 vs. UMKC).
Sophomore Ted Schleisman (Verona, Wis./Middleton) paced the Bulldog attack with a game-high three shots.
Senior midfielder Ryan Moylan (Wauwatosa, Wis.) made his first start in two years for Drake. He sat out the 2007 season as medical redshirt because of abdominal injury. Moylan led the team in scoring in 2006.
"Ryan gave us an extra dimension with his seniority and left footed service tonight," said Holmes,
Drake outshot the Panthers 14-10, including 9-8 on goal.
