DES MOINES, IOWA - Junior Thomas Ostrander's (Fort Dodge, Iowa/St. Edmond Catholic) goal in the 90th minute (89:14) capped a frantic finish lifting the Drake men's soccer team to a 3-2 victory over Western Illinois on Tuesday (Sept. 28) at the Cownie Soccer Complex.

In a rematch of their 2009 NCAA Tournament opening round meeting on the same field, the Bulldogs again proved triumphant improving their ledger to 4-5 overall, while dropping the Leathernecks to 2-5-2.

"I was really pleased with our desire to fight back tonight," Drake head coach Sean Holmes commented.  "We were as good as we've been all year in the first 45 minutes and then the second half when we scored the second goal we started to lose our way a little bit and lost our shape and discipline, specifically our concentration and that isn't abnormal for a team that is still as young as us.  With Western Illinois, you know you're always going to play a team that is going to battle, whether it was the NCAA Tournament last year or any game we've ever played against them since I've been here, it is always going to be a battle."

With the game all squared at two and overtime looming, freshman Brian Grand (North Branch, Minn./North Branch) took a ball in the defensive third and deftly moved it forward threading a pass just to the right of the box which redshirt junior Michael Noonan (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Xavier) flicked back to a charging Ostrander for the game-winning goal.

"When they've got their talented playmaker in Husref Jupic, who's playing in front of his family and friends you know he's going to be extra motivated," said Holmes.  "I thought they were very clever in the last half hour of the game, but once again for us to be successful we need the upperclassmen to step up at key moments, so for Noonan and Ostrander to combine on the winning goal is terrific."

The contest proved to be a tale of two halves as Drake dominated the first 45 minutes statistically, while Western Illinois seemingly owned the final stanza.  Shots finished in favor of the Bulldogs, 17-15, but Drake was outshot in the second half, 12-5, after bettering the Leathernecks, 12-3, in the initial stanza.

The Bulldogs broke open a scoreless affair just before halftime when freshman Bryan Jantsch (Mission Hills, Kan./Rockhurst) fired a rocket from well beyond the 18-yard box that deflected off the back of the Western Illinois defender for an own goal at the 42:12 mark.

The lead grew to 2-0 in the 49th minute (48:47) when redshirt junior Charles Schwartz (Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf) knocked in a shot off a deflection of senior teammate Evan Harrison's (Evansville, Ind./Reitz Memorial) attempt for his second tally of the year.

The Leathernecks then began an assault on the Bulldogs' defensive unit that saw Western Illinois seemingly drive through the Drake backline at will en route to scoring a pair of goals.

Nathan Bruinsma cut the deficit to 2-1 at the 56:05 mark before Adam Rappin tied the game at two with a goal in the 75th minute (74:03).

Ostrander led all players with five shots, while junior Michael Thaden (West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley) added four shots.  Western Illinois was sparked by three shots each courtesy of Rappin, Oskar Gasecki and Darryl Odom.

Andy Ryan finished with a game-high seven saves for the Leathernecks, while redshirt junior Jordan Kadlec (Hiawatha, Iowa/Cedar Rapids Kennedy) pulled in four stops for Drake.

"Brian (Grand) and some of the younger players, Bryan (Jantsch), who set up the first goal, even Erik (Boyer) coming in the last minute and fighting for balls, all these moments are important," Holmes explained.  "The cumulative effect will be when it is really time to compete in the conference that we'll be a more experienced, mature team."

Drake next returns to action on Saturday (Oct. 2) hosting No. 12 UC Irvine as part of the Ralph Gross Alumni Classic.  Game time is slated for 7:00 p.m.

"I think we have five days to prepare for a nationally-ranked opponent, we're going to have to be cleaner," Holmes commented.  "You can't be up 2-0 against an NCAA Tournament quality team and let it slip away that is not good enough."