DES MOINES, IOWA - Fittingly
on Senior Night it was senior Evan Harrison's (Evansville, Ind./Reitz Memorial) golden goal 26 seconds into
the second overtime that lifted Drake to a come-from-behind 2-1 men's soccer
victory over Central Arkansas on Saturday (Oct. 30).
The triumph propelled the Bulldogs' slate to 7-7-2 overall, including
3-2-1 in the Missouri Valley Conference, while dropping the Bears to 3-12 and
0-6 in league play.
"It appears we don't really like to do things the easy way, as our three
wins in the conference have been come-from-behind against Evansville, Bradley
and now Central Arkansas," Drake head coach Sean Holmes commented.
"I never thought that we'd lose the game, though we didn't play particularly
well in the first half. I thought we
were persistent and kept to our script and created good chances whether it was
through set pieces, corners and the run of play and you always thought it was
going to come."
Harrison's heroics were setup by a long punt from redshirt junior
goalkeeper Jordan Kadlec (Hiawatha,
Iowa/Cedar Rapids Kennedy) that found its way to junior Hunter Kennedy (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Cedar Rapids Washington), who turned
and flicked the ball into the box for Harrison's header at the 100:34 mark.
The goal was the second of the season for Harrison, who was honored
along with fellow seniors Nick Foster
(West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley) and Kenan Malicevic (Travnik, Bosnia/Cedar Valley) in pregame ceremonies.
"That Evan (Harrison) scored on Senior Day is pretty special," said
Holmes. "I thought that Nick
(Foster) also had a terrific game.
I was sad that Kenan (Malicevic) through injuries was sort of limited to
the 15 minutes or so at the start of the game and wasn't his usual effective
self."
Central Arkansas struck first in the affair when Mickey Segura fired a
laser into the upper right corner of the net off a reset on a corner kick in
the sixth minute (5:49) to stake the Bears to a 1-0 lead.
Despite Drake owning a decided shot advantage in the game, the goal held
up until redshirt junior Charles Schwartz (Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf) netted the equalizer off a free kick
at the 74:07 mark.
The Bulldogs registered a 22-9 advantage in shots, including 4-1 in
overtime. Schwartz paced the Drake
attack with a game-high five shots, while Harrison and junior Thomas Ostrander (Fort Dodge, Iowa/St.
Edmond Catholic) each recorded four shots. Three different Bears posted two shots apiece.
"I thought Thomas Ostrander's passion and commitment always was good and
once again Jordan (Kadlec) when called upon was very solid," Holmes
extolled. "Michael (Thaden) has
continued to be our engine room in the middle of the field and Hunter (Kennedy)
proved that he can be a dominating physical presence in the Valley by setting
up the winning goal, we need to see that more from him."
Kadlec finished the game pulling in five saves, while Greg Brooks
registered six saves for Central Arkansas.
Drake returns to action on Saturday (Nov. 6) as the Bulldogs close their
regular season with a 2:00 p.m. showdown at Eastern Illinois.
"The next task is to play Eastern Illinois," Holmes explained. "We're in the MVC Tournament, whether we
finish third or sixth is irrelevant as everyone is sort of the same, so the
seeding is almost of no importance to anyone."
