DES MOINES, IOWA - A pair of
second-half goals propelled Missouri State to a come-from-behind 2-1 victory
over No. 19 Drake in Missouri Valley Conference men's soccer action on Saturday
evening (Oct. 17) at the Cownie Soccer Complex.
The loss snapped the Bulldogs' five-match unbeaten streak and dropped
their ledger to 8-4-1 overall and 3-1-0 in the MVC, while the Bears improved
their record to 8-3-2, including 3-1-1 in league play.
"This result was unfortunately a bit inevitable as we've been sort of
casual and not as sharp as we need to be for last few weeks," Drake head coach Sean Holmes commented. "When you only score a goal a game as we
have the last four games, sooner or later that's going present a problem."
The Bulldogs dictated the pace and flow of the contest in the first 45
minutes outshooting Missouri State, 8-4.
Sophomore Thomas Ostrander
(Fort Dodge, Iowa/St. Edmond Catholic) gave Drake an early 1-0 advantage
scoring his fourth goal of the year at the 11:16 mark.
The play developed at the top of the box as senior Kevin Shrout (Lee's Summit, Mo./Lee's Summit) threaded a pass to a
streaking junior Matt Kuhn (Raytown,
Mo./Raytown South) on the left side of the box who in turn directed a feed to a
diving Ostrander, who finished the score.
"I thought Thomas (Ostrander) gave a gutsy effort for his goal, but
unless our strikers look really, really hungry like they want to score goals
we're going to make this more difficult for ourselves," Holmes said.
The momentum swung in favor of the Bears in the second half as Missouri
State inserted three players into the starting line-up who hadn't seen action
in the first half.
The move paid off as Johannes Demarzi squared the affair at one in the
58th minute (57:57) connecting on laser amidst a scramble in the box.
The game remained tied at one until Demarzi served a ball on a corner to
Ryan Hennessy, who headed the ball past Drake redshirt junior goalkeeper Michael Drozd (Harwood Heights,
Ill./Loyola Academy) for what proved to be the game-winning tally.
"The seniors that we've attached our wagon to tonight didn't provide
their usual high standard of leadership and play and we can't have a night when
the guys aren't focused and properly motivated," Holmes explained. "Missouri State is always a difficult
team to play against. They've earned
great road wins against Southern Methodist, Creighton and tonight over us, so
they have to be respected."
Demarzi paced all players with three shots, while seniors Calvin Clark (Overland Park, Kan./St.
Thomas Aquinas) and Luke Gorczyca
(Overland Park, Kan./St. Thomas Aquinas) led the Bulldogs with two shots
apiece.
"We knew no one would go through this home-and-home MVC season without
taking a black eye here and there and I think that's the reality of the
conference this season," Holmes stated.
The Bulldogs got strong play from their back line in the tilt,
particularly Calvin Clark and senior Julien Edwards (Ottawa, Ont./De La Salle), but unfortunately that didn't translate
into a victory.
"As always our center backs in Julien (Edwards) and Calvin (Clark) were
terrific, but ultimately didn't receive they support they needed or deserved,"
Holmes commented.
Drozd recorded four saves for Drake, while Alex Riggs pulled in seven
stops for Missouri State.
The Bulldogs return to action on Wednesday (Oct. 21) hosting Eastern
Illinois in a MVC contest starting at 7:00 p.m.
