KANSAS CITY, MO. - The Drake women's soccer team came up just short of its bid for its fourth consecutive shutout as the Bulldogs earned a 2-1 victory over UMKC on Thursday evening (Sept. 24).

Drake pushed its ledger above .500 at 4-3-3 with the triumph, while keeping the Kangaroos winless at 0-8-1.

"Tonight was a tale of two halves for our team," Bulldog head coach Lindsey Horner commented.  "We struggled to get a hold of the ball and connect passes in the first half and settled for shots from distance.  In the second half, we demonstrated our ability to break down defenses and that made for exciting, attacking soccer."

"I was a little disappointed that we weren't able to finish off the game and collect the shutout but anytime you can earn a road victory, it is a positive result."

Senior Elizabeth Woerle (Coon Rapids, Minn./Meadow Creek) put the Bulldogs on the scoreboard first with her team-leading fourth goal of the season at the 59:10 mark.  Woerle finished a ball that deflected off a save made by Jami Finnell on redshirt sophomore Ali Walsh's (Florissant, Mo./Hazelwood Central) shot.

Senior Crystal Townley (Colorado Springs, Colo./Palmer) extended the advantage to 2-0 netting her second goal of the year in the 68th minute (67:08).  Sophomore goalkeeper Kourtney Arnold (Norwalk, Iowa/Norwalk) earned her first career assist on the tally

Meagan Shipley became the first opponent to score a goal on Drake in more than 383 minutes finding the back of the net at the 86:55 mark to finalize a 2-1 Bulldog victory.

Arnold pulled in one save for Drake, while Finnell registered a game-high nine saves for UMKC.

The Bulldogs outshot UMKC, 16-4, led by three shots apiece from Woerle, Townley and sophomore Danielle Figliola (Longmont, Colo./Silver Creek). 

"I was impressed with the strides UMKC has made as a first-year program," Horner said.

Drake returns to the road on Sunday (Sept. 27) opening Missouri Valley Conference play at Evansville. Game time is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.