NORMAL, ILL. - With one
week remaining in its regular season, the Drake women's soccer team dropped a
game it couldn't afford to come away without a point in as Missouri Valley
Conference leader Illinois State defeated the Bulldogs, 2-0, on Sunday
afternoon (Oct. 25).
Drake will enter its regular season finale against Indiana State on
Thursday (Oct. 29) needing a victory and an Evansville loss to Creighton in
order to host an opening round contest in the State Farm MVC Championship next
Sunday (Nov. 1). The Bulldogs go
into that game with a 7-8-3 overall record, including 2-3 in conference
action. The Redbirds improved
their ledger to 10-5-1 and 5-0 in league play.
"Illinois State is a very athletic team and they were able to put us
under pressure faster than we were prepared to handle in the first half," Drake
head coach Lindsey Horner commented. "We looked overwhelmed in the first
half and confident in the second half.
The question remains from here on out as to which Drake team will show
up and which seniors will be our go-to players for the full game."
Illinois State capitalized on a 13-3 first-half advantage in shots with
two goals in the initial stanza to assume a lead it never relinquished in the
affair.
Jessica Carlson netted her ninth tally of the season at the 8:58 mark
before Alyssa Schulz added her sixth goal of the campaign in the 29th minute
(28:37).
The Redbirds finished the contest outshooting Drake, 18-5, led by four
shots from Carlson. Pacing the
Bulldogs with two shots was senior Melissa Lewis (Edina, Minn./Edina).
Sophomore Kourtney Arnold
(Norwalk, Iowa/Norwalk) pulled in seven stops in net for the Bulldogs, while
Sasha Reiber made three saves.
Drake will close out its regular season hosting Indiana State on
Thursday (Oct. 29) at the Cownie Soccer Complex. The contest which begins at 7:00 p.m., will serve as the
final home games for Bulldog seniors Elizabeth Woerle (Coon Rapids, Minn./Meadow Creek), Lewis, Crystal Townley (Colorado Springs, Colo./Palmer), Blair Nelson (Southlake,
Texas/Carroll), Karissa Brown
(Encinitas, Calif./La Costa Canyon), Shannon Schuehle (Shorewood, Minn./Minnetonka) and Rachel Gielau (Denver, Iowa/Denver).
