DES MOINES, IOWA - Displaying the tenacity and fire which garnered his inclusion on the 2009 Hermann Watch List, college soccer's top individual honor, Drake senior Garrett Webb (Prairie Village, Kan./Shawnee Mission East) broke open a scoreless tilt in the 80th minute (79:39) to lift the 21st-ranked Bulldog men's soccer team to a 2-0 victory over DePaul on Tuesday evening (Sept. 1) at the Cownie Soccer Complex.

"Today was an example of the maturity of our team as we didn't play very well in the first half, neither team really did," Drake head coach Sean Holmes commented.  "In the second half, we started to take over as evidenced statistically and you could feel the game starting to turn."

The Bulldogs (1-0) statistically dominated DePaul (0-1) in the affair outshooting the Blue Demons, 12-3, but neither side was able to break into the scoring column until Webb's shot from the top of the box beat Blue Demon goalkeeper Eric Sorby to the upper-right corner of the net.

The goal was the first of the season for Webb and the 19th of his career.  Senior Kevin Shrout (Lee's Summit, Mo./Lee's Summit) earned the assist on what proved to be the game-winning tally.

"Garrett (Webb) showed his true class and why he was included on the Hermann Watch List, because those were two really good finishes," Holmes said. 

Webb added his second tally of the affair at the 88:04 mark taking a pass from sophomore Thomas Ostrander (Fort Dodge, Iowa/St. Edmond Catholic) down the center to beat the DePaul defense and deposit the ball from the top of the box into the net for a 2-0 advantage.

"We did it with a couple players not quite 100 percent healthy on the day and still got the victory," Holmes commented.  "That was a game years ago we would've found a way to lose and now, despite not playing great, we still could win."

Drake's defensive backline led by senior center defenders Calvin Clark (Overland Park, Kan./St. Thomas Aquinas) and Julien Edwards (Ottawa, Ontario/De La Salle) consistently denied the Blue Demons the ability to get off shots in the box while working as a unit to clear balls from the the Bulldogs' end.

"I don't believe there are two better center backs than Calvin (Clark) and Julien (Edwards)," Holmes said.  "They battle, they fight and they can pass, they do so many things so well."

Redshirt junior goalkeeper Michael Drozd (Harwood Heights, Ill./Loyola Academy) posted his sixth career shutout in the contest as he registered one save, while facing only three shots.

 "It was nice for Mike (Drozd) to start the season where he left off getting a shutout," Holmes stated.

Webb and Clark paced the Bulldogs with two shots apiece, while 10 total Drake players, including senior Luke Gorczyca (Overland Park, Kan./St. Thomas Aquinas) and redshirt sophomore Charles Schwartz (Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf) recorded a shot.

"Luke (Gorczyza) is a tremendous battler, Garret (Webb) was a beast up front today and I think it was nice to get Charlie (Schwartz) and Mike (Noonan) back from their redshirt years as it gave us a dynamic and vitality on the wing," Holmes commented.

Drake returns to action on Friday (Sept. 4) as the Bulldogs entertain No. 22 Michigan at the Cownie Soccer Complex at 7:00 p.m.

Drake donned green jerseys for the game that were auctioned off with proceeds benefiting the Iowa Renewable Energy Association (I-Renew), enrhPATH and the Center on Sustainable Communities as part of the Drake Soccer Goes Green event.