KANSAS CITY, MO. - A pair of
first-half goals proved to be all the scoring UMKC needed as the Kangaroos
dealt the Drake men's soccer team a 3-0 setback on Sunday (Sept. 20) at the
Holiday Inn at the Plaza UMKC Invitational.
The Bulldogs fell to 4-3 overall with the loss, while the Kangaroos
improved to 2-4.
"Our team in many ways is an enigma, to follow Friday's outstanding
performance with a game like this is puzzling," Drake head coach Sean Holmes commented. "We dominated the game statistically in
shots, chances and in possession, but we made poor decisions at key moments and
that cost us dearly."
Chris Markey netted what proved to be the game-winning goal at the 22:46
mark beating redshirt junior goalkeeper Michael Drozd (Harwood Heights, Ill./Loyola Academy) to the upper left corner for a
1-0 lead.
Diego Rojas stretched the margin to 2-0 in the 35th minute (34:41)
accepting a cross from Jimmy Simon and again finding the upper left corner for
the tally.
Bryan Perez finished the scoring for UMKC converting on a penalty kick
at the 64:49 mark to account for the final 3-0 advantage.
Statistically, the Bulldogs dominated the shot total as Drake bettered
the Kangaroos, 26-11. Sophomore Thomas Ostrander (Fort Dodge, Iowa/St.
Edmond Catholic) and junior Matt Kuhn
(Raytown, Mo./Raytown South) led the charge with five and four shots,
respectively. UMKC was directed by
a three-shot performance from Perez.
"We have an abundance of talent, especially in our senior class, but
they have to understand that to be a consistent top-25 team that you have to
show up and perform every day and not just some of the time," Holmes said. "We had ample opportunities to finish
the game off in the first 20 minutes and through lack of composure and
attention, we let it slip away and consequently paid the price."
Drozd played the first half of the affair, registering one save, before
giving way to redshirt sophomore Jordan Kadlec (Hiawatha, Iowa/Cedar Rapids Kennedy) for the final 45 minutes. Ken Cooper pulled in eight saves for
UMKC.
Drake returns to action on Sept. 25 as the Bulldogs face a road date at
No. 25 Northwestern. Game time is
scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
