DES MOINES, IOWA - Three goals in a nearly seven-minute span proved to be all
the scoring the Drake women's soccer team needed en route to earning a 3-0
victory over SIU Edwardsville on Sunday (Oct. 10) at the Cownie Soccer Complex.
On the one-year anniversary of the earliest snowfall in Des
Moines history, the Bulldogs improved to 8-4-3 overall dominating the Cougars
on a picturesque October afternoon with game-time temperatures in the
mid-80's. SIU Edwardsville's
record fell to 7-4-1 with the setback.
"It says a lot about the players we have to lose a tough
conference game on Friday night, travel through the
night, and come out with the energy and determination that we did," Drake head
coach Lindsey Horner commented. "Our girls
followed the game plan, and by finishing some of our early chances it
completely changed the dynamic of the game."
After a slow first 15 minutes of play, freshman Paige Dusek (St. Charles,
Ill./St. Charles North) nearly cracked the scoring column for the Bulldogs
getting behind goalkeeper Claire Lovercheck and having her shot deflected out
by an SIU Edwardsville team save at the 17:08 mark.
Fellow freshman Generve Charles (Wausau, Wis./Wausau East) had a
1v1 with Lovercheck in the 28th minute (27:24) and was thwarted with her attempt
hitting the crossbar.
Junior Danielle Figliola (Longmont, Colo./Silver Creek)
ended the Drake dramatics at the 25:59 mark connecting on her third goal of the
season with a header off a feed from 25 yards out from senior Katie Anderson (Naperville, Ill./Naperville
North).
The lead swelled to 2-0 in the 28th minute (27:43) when
sophomore Laura Moklestad (Des Moines, Iowa/Roosevelt) beat the goalie 1v1 off a pass
from Dusek off the far right sideline.
Sophomore Tara Zika (St. Louis, Mo./Ursuline) capped the scoring at the
32:53 mark registering her first goal as a Bulldog accepting a free kick from
freshman Charlie Maxwell (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) in the box and depositing the ball in
the net.
Led by a career- and game-high nine shots from Dusek, Drake
posted an 18-14 advantage in shots in the affair. A pair of three-shot performances by Ashley Davidson and
Brittany Bodziak directed the Cougars.
Lovercheck and freshman Kalena Litch (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) each
pulled in four saves for SIU Edwardsville and Drake, respectively.
The Bulldogs return to action with a key Missouri Valley
Conference showdown at Creighton on Thursday (Oct. 14) at 7:00 p.m.
