OMAHA, NEB. - The Drake women's soccer team turned in a gritty
performance battling the Missouri Valley Conference's hottest team down to the
wire before a goal by Lauren Cingoranelli in the 79th minute (78:35) lifted
Creighton to a 1-0 victory over Drake on Thursday (Oct. 14).
The win extended the Bluejays' winning streak to nine
straight matches and improved their record to 11-2-2, including 4-0 in the MVC,
while dropping the Bulldogs to 8-5-3 overall and 1-3 in league action.
"I know we are past the point of our season where we can
celebrate moral victories, but I am really proud of our performance this
evening," Drake head coach Lindsey Horner commented.
"The team bought into our game plan, kept them in front of us while the
game was tied, and created plenty of chances."
"Creighton is a tough team to beat at home, and I certainly
thought we showed up tonight and put forth an effort that we can be proud
of. We were unlucky to have a goal
called back, but this game is sometimes cruel. We have to turn our focus to Missouri State and can't dwell
on this result."
The two sides waged a scoreless battle in the initial stanza
with the Bluejays owning a 10-7 advantage in shots.
Creighton's best scoring opportunity in the initial stanza
came at the 24:39 mark when Andrea Zuniga unfurled a shot that only a save by a
Drake defender kept from going in net.
Freshman Paige Dusek (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) appeared to
give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead at the 47:18 mark when she found the back of the
net. Unfortunately for Drake, the
goal was waved off as the Bulldogs were whistled for an offside call.
Cingoranelli broke the stalemate in the 79th minute (78:35)
connecting on the game-winning goal with assists from Zuniga and Brittney
Neumann.
Creighton outshot the Bulldogs on the evening, 21-18, with
sophomore Tara Zika (St. Louis, Mo./Ursuline) registering a team-, game- and career-best
six shots. Zuniga and Neumann
paced the Bluejays with six shots each.
Freshman Kalena Litch (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) finished the showdown with
six saves, while her counterpart for Creighton, Alicia Montgomery also pulled
in six saves.
Drake closes out its home campaign on Sunday (Oct. 17)
entertaining Missouri State at the Cownie Soccer Complex. Game time is slated for 1:00 p.m. with
Senior Day activities for seniors Katie Anderson (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North)
and Bailey Dorrington (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Xavier) and redshirt junior Abi Dodds (Topeka, Kan./Hayden) occurring
before the match.
