OCTOBER 18, 2011

DES MOINES, Iowa - Displaying a gritty determination, the Drake women's soccer team battled Creighton (8-5-2, 3-0-1 MVC) tooth and nail before the Bulldogs (3-9-4, 1-3 MVC) succumbed to the Bluejays, 1-0, on Tuesday (Oct. 18) at the Cownie Soccer Complex.

"We were right there with them tonight," Drake head coach Lindsey Horner commented.  "I think our backs did a great job of slowing Creighton's front runners down and covering for each other.  Their central players were athletic and dynamic and for most of the game we were able to force them to make an extra pass or take a shot Kalena (Litch) could clean up."  

The two Missouri Valley Conference combatants battled end-to-end in the initial stanza with Creighton garnering a 10-7 advantage in shots.

Drake's best-scoring opportunity in the first half came late in the period off a defensive misplay in the box that resulted in a header by sophomore Generve Charles (Wausau, Wis./Wausau East), that only a sprawling vertical save by Bluejay goalkeeper Alicia Montgomery prevented a Bulldog goal.

The second half carried out much like the first before Creighton received a fortuitous bounce on the game's only goal.

Striking the ball from 30 yards out Andrea Zuniga's shot tailed off to the left corner of the net where it struck sophomore goalkeeper Kalena Litch's (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) hands and bounced hitting the cross bar before falling in behind the line for Zuniga's fourth goal of the season at the 68:41 mark.

Following the goal, Drake outshot the Bluejays 7-4 down the stretch, including three strong shots on net from freshman Katie Helmlinger (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Kennedy).  Helmlinger's best strike came at the 86:25 mark on a ball that went upper 90 and only a stellar save by Montgomery knocking the ball over the net stopped a Drake equalizer.

"I'm not sure if there was a deflection on their goal or how our keeper got wrong footed, and while it was deflating to let one in like that, we responded and really took it to them in the last 20 minutes," said Horner.  "It seemed we had the equalizer when Katie (Helmlinger) hit a laser to the upper 90, but their keeper made one of the best saves I've seen this year."  

Creighton finished the affair owning a 22-17 advantage in shots, led by a game-high six shots from Zuniga.  Pacing the Bulldogs' attack was senior Danielle Figliola (Longmont, Colo./Silver Creek) with five shots.

Litch registered a career-high 12 saves in the contest, while Montgomery was nearly as impressive recording 11 saves.

With her complete-game effort, Litch moved past Erin Jarvis (2003-06) for third in career minutes played at Drake with 3,342.  She also remained on pace to surpass the single-season record for saves (124) set by Kate Stack in 2002, as Litch owns 112 saves this season.

"Creighton made some mistakes in their box and we didn't punish them for it," Horner explained.  "We have to keep working hard to change our luck in front of the goal.  Our last two games are crucial, not only to get into the tournament, but for seeding.  We have to start our next two games with the same urgency we finished with tonight."

Drake returns to action on Sunday (Oct. 23) with a 1:00 p.m. tilt at Evansville.