SEPT. 30, 2008

KANSAS CITY, MO. -- UMKC scored two goals in a three-minute flurry in the second half to rally for a 4-3 victory past the No. 19 ranked Drake men's soccer team Tuesday night.

The setback concluded a September schedule in which the Bulldogs played all eight matches on the road, posting a 6-2 mark while vaulting into the national rankings.

It marked the second time this season UMKC upset a nationally ranked team after beating then No. 3 ranked Creighton, 1-0, Sept. 3.

The winning goal, by junior Bryan Perez, came at the 59:14 mark to a cap a hat-trick performance.

The incident-marred game saw 28 fouls called, including 15 on Drake.

"It was a bizarre game," said Drake head soccer coach Sean Holmes. "We gave up four goals in one game after opening the season allowing a total of only four goals in our first eight games. Playing on artificial turf was awful hard for a team having played on the road for so long."

The Kangaroos had tied the score at 3-3 at 56:06 on a goal by Caleb Mitchell before the heroics from Perez.

Drake jumped to a 2-0 lead in the opening 16 minutes of the match.

A rocket shot from the left wing by junior Kevin Shrout (Lee's Summit, Mo.) opened Drake's scoring at the 15:28 mark.

Thirty-nine seconds later, Drake increased its margin to 2-0 on a goal by freshman Hunter Kennedy (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) off a feed from junior Garrett Webb (Prairie Village, Kan.).

"My biggest concern was that I thought we would be tired entering this match after having been on the road so long," said Holmes. "But that wasn't the case. We created lots of chances. The disappointment was that we gave up a lot of chances too."

After two goals by Perez tied the score at 2-2, junior Luke Gorczyca (Overland Park, Kan.) gave the Bulldogs their final lead of the game at the 35:18 mark following a feed by sophomore Matt Kuhn (Raytown, Mo.)

Drake nearly doubled UMKC in shots, 17-10. The Bulldogs also had seven shots on goal. Shrout led Drake with four shots, including two on goal.

Gorczyca, Kennedy, freshman Tony Weber (Olathe, Kan.) and junior Brian Wurst (Kansas City, Mo.) each had two shots.

The Bulldogs, who fell to 8-2, will resume action Oct. 11 when they open the Missouri Valley Conference season at home playing host to Missouri State.

"I'm glad we have some time off, so that we can get ourselves healthy and getting ready for the conference season," Holmes said.