PEORIA, ILL. - Picking an opportune time to score his first collegiate goals, junior Michael Thaden (West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley) netted two tallies over the final 2:56, including the game-winning goal with 29 seconds remaining, to propel Drake to a dramatic 2-1 come-from-behind men's soccer triumph over Bradley on Wednesday (Oct. 13).

The win improved the Bulldogs' ledger to 6-5-1, including 2-0 in the Missouri Valley Conference, while dropping the Braves to 5-7-1 overall and 0-2 in league action.

"Anytime you go on the road in the Missouri Valley Conference you know that you're in for a battle, especially at as formidable opponent as Bradley," Drake head coach Sean Holmes commented.  "We were not very good in the first half and were only slightly better in the second half.  We gave up a mouth-buster goal, but once again indicative of our resolve we battled back."

The two sides fought through a scoreless first half with Bradley owning a 9-4 advantage in shots, including 4-3 on goal.

The Bulldogs' best scoring threat in the initial stanza may have come at the 39:26 mark when freshman Bryan Jantsch (Mission Hills, Kan./Rockhurst) unfurled a shot that only a team save by a Braves' defender kept Drake off the scoreboard.

Aodhan Quinn broke a scoreless stalemate in favor of Bradley punching through a ball in the midst of a scrum in the 56th minute (55:50) to give the Braves a 1-0 lead.

It appeared Bradley had garnered a 2-0 advantage in the 85th minute, but Bryan Gaul's insurance tally was waved off by an offside call.

The advantage held until the 87:04 mark when Thaden and Braves' goalkeeper Brian Billings collided racing for a through ball on the right side of the penalty area.  Bradley was charged with a foul in the box and Thaden made the Braves pay converting a penalty kick to square the contest at one.  The goal was both the first of the season and of the career for Thaden.

"That Michael (Thaden) scored his first collegiate goal midway through his junior year is remarkable," said Holmes.  "I almost never let the player fouled take the penalty kick but he was the most courageous and willing to do so.  It is fantastic for him as he has worked back from physical and academic challenges and I'm proud of all he's accomplished."

With Drake still aggressive with the clock counting down the final minute of regulation, Bradley was unable to cleanly clear the ball out of its penalty area.  Redshirt junior Michael Noonan (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Xavier) collected the ball on the right side and played it back to the top of the box, where Thaden ripped a shot that deflected off another player and sailed into the back netting to complete a closing rally.

The match proved to be physical in nature as 23 combined fouls were whistled, including 14 against the Braves.

"We never veered from our aggressive, positive soccer play and if we're willing to do this game in and game out we'll be successful more often than not," Holmes explained.

Bradley outshot the Bulldogs in the affair, 18-12, including 9-8 in the second half.

Thaden directed Drake with a team-high three shots, while senior Nick Foster (West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley) and redshirt junior Charles Schwartz (Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf) each added two shots.  Aodhan led all players with five shots in the affair.

Redshirt junior Jordan Kadlec (Hiawatha, Iowa/Cedar Rapids Kennedy) pulled in four saves for the Bulldogs, while Billings made three stops for the Braves.

Holmes lauded the efforts of freshmen Max Duncan (Joplin, Mo./Joplin) and Brian Grand (North Branch, Minn./North Branch) in the victory.

"Brian (Grand) had a positive effect on the game and think he has the ability to become the most exciting dynamic attacker in the MVC.  Max (Duncan) came on with 15-20 minutes left in the game and helped changed the midfield."

Drake returns to action on Saturday (Oct. 16) with a key MVC showdown at Missouri State.  Game time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.