SEPT. 26, 2008

TULSA, OKLA. - Freshman reserve Tony Weber's (Olathe, Kan.) first collegiate goal proved to be the difference in lifting the No. 21 ranked Drake men's soccer team to a 2-1 victory at Oral Roberts Friday night.

Drake, playing its seventh straight road match, improved its record to 8-1 for the best start in school history.

Weber was playing in only his fourth match of the season for the Bulldogs.

"The story of this game, as has been the story for every match on this road trip, is that a new hero always seems to emerge," said Drake head coach Sean Holmes.

A header by junior Luke Gorczyca (Overland Park, Kan.), off a feed by junior Brian Wurst (Kansas City, Mo.), in the 43rd minute staked Drake to a 1-0 lead.

Drake outshot Oral Roberts, 19-10, while matching a season-high with 12 shots on goal.

"It was a very wide-open game," said Holmes. "Both teams wanted to attack with minimal defending. We were fortunate to get out of the first half with a 1-0 lead."

Weber's goal came at the 71:28 mark but 40 seconds later Oral Roberts responded with a goal by Vince Tizzone to account for the final margin.

"In the second half we became more assertive with the goal by Weber coming after a sustained period of quality attacking," Holmes added.

"But the biggest problem was giving up a goal right after we scored. It made the last 18 minutes of the game far more difficult than it had to be."

Gorczyca, sophomore Kenan Malicevic (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) and freshman Hunter Kennedy (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) led Drake with three shots apiece.

The Bulldogs played without the services of starting defender Calvin Clark (Overland Park, Kan.), who was sidelined with a shoulder injury. Meanwhile, midfielder Ryan Moylan (Wauwatosa, Wis.), the lone senior starter, suffered a sprained ankle in the third minute of the match on a tackle and did not return to the lineup.

Gorczyca, Malicevic, Weber and junior Kevin Shrout (Lee's Summit, Mo.) each had two shots on goal. Shrout moved from his midfield role to play center back in wake of Clark's injury.

Sophomore redshirt Michael Drozd (Hartwood Heights, Ill.) went the distance in goal for the Bulldogs, recording four saves.

Drake will close out its month long September road swing, playing at UMKC Tuesday night.