OCTOBER 1, 2011

DES MOINES, Iowa - Senior Matt Kuhn's (Raytown, Mo./Raytown South) goal in the 86th minute (85:31) helped Drake (6-4-1) escape with a 4-3 men's soccer victory over Saint Louis (2-5-1) on Saturday (Oct. 1) in the second annual Ralph Gross Classic at the Cownie Soccer Complex.

"Tonight sort of typified what our season has been like," Drake head coach Sean Holmes commented.  "To score four goals against a school like Saint Louis is an accomplishment, but to be up 3-0 on a nice weather night with a good crowd and more or less chuck it away is pretty unacceptable.  We have got to be smarter, more mature and find ways to close out games."

"The nature of our team is when we're up 3-0 we're really still thinking about scoring goals 4 and 5 and really good teams, top-20 teams are like we're not even going to let you near our goal.  Our team sort of propels itself forward looking for those chances.  I think now that we have seven days to prepare ourselves for the start of conference, these are things that will be addressed and cleaned up."

The Bulldogs struck first in the affair when senior Thomas Ostrander (Fort Dodge, Iowa/St. Edmond Catholic) connected on his second goal of the year on a header at the 30:46 mark off a serve from the corner by fellow senior Michael Noonan (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Xavier).

Senior Hunter Kennedy (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Washington) extended Drake's lead to 2-0 in the 36th minute (35:58) gliding into the box to accept a feed from Ostrander and freshman Kyle Whigham (Overland Park, Kan./St. Thomas Aquinas) and scoring his second tally of the season.

The Bulldogs registered a dominating 18-5 advantage in first-half shots.

"What made me most happy was the first half, not only the score, but we played 45 minutes of excellent soccer from back to front," said Holmes.  "If we ever did that two 45's in a row I think we'd beat anyone in the country, but we're not yet capable of sustaining that concentration and excellence."

A bicycle-kick goal from the middle of the box by Ostrander at the 53:21 mark stretched Drake's margin to 3-0.  Earning the assist on the tally was Kennedy.

"Hunter (Kennedy) and Thomas (Ostrander) have worked their tails off all season long for a total of a goal each to this point so it was good that we were able to create goals from all over the field," stated Holmes.

On the strength of outshooting the Bulldogs in the final 45 minutes, 15-7, the Billikens scored the first of three unanswered tallies in the 58th minute (57:29) when Mike Roach nailed a header off Chad Vandergriffe's corner to beat senior goalkeeper Jordan Kadlec (Hiawatha, Iowa/Kennedy) cutting the deficit to 3-1.

William Hildago brought Saint Louis to within 3-2, delivering a goal off a serve from Roach at the 68:17 mark.

The Billikens evened the affair at three in the 81st minute (80:32) when Raymond Lee nailed his fourth goal of the season off another Roach assist.

It was then all the creativity and perseverance of Kuhn to give the Bulldogs what proved to be the game-winning goal at the 85:31 mark.  The tally moved Kuhn into the top-10 in school history in career goals with 20.

"You could see when Matt (Kuhn) scored the winning goal that his whole run from 18 yards he felt like he was going to do it," Holmes commented.

Drake was forced to play nearly the last three minutes of the game a man down after Noonan was issued his second yellow card of the game for dissent.

"The only real smudge on the game was Michael Noonan's second red card of the season," Holmes explained.  "As a fifth-year senior, you have to be able to contain yourself in the moment of truth and not give in to mistakes like that. I can tolerate cards for guys going into crunching tackles and playing with real intensity, but to be petulant isn't good enough."

The Bulldogs outshot the Billikens in the tilt, 25-20, with Ostrander and Kuhn each recording a team-high five shots.  Adding four shots apiece was senior Charles Schwartz (Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf), Noonan and Kennedy.  Saint Louis was directed by a seven-shot effort from Adnan Gabaljic.

Kadlec pulled in three saves for Drake, while Nick Shackelford was credited with six stops for Saint Louis.

Holmes had mixed emotions on the stark differences in the first and second halves.

"Not that it was two halves, but it was 60 minutes of really good soccer and 30 minutes of a pretty diabolical letdown. We're going to have to learn if we want to play beyond our regular season finale against Missouri State on Nov. 5, especially at home, you have to take care of your business."

Holmes also offered plaudits to several of his younger players for their efforts.

"It was nice to have Logan (North) back after a week off for a concussion, which made us a little less stable at the back, I thought he played well. I also thought Kyle (Whigham) playing against some very good players, he was matched up against Mike Roach, who is a Hermann Award candidate, so for him as a true freshman to match up against a guy of that caliber and come out more or less on positive side is a good accomplishment. Garrett (Crall) and Nick (Marshall) at the back were better tonight, but they have to find ways to not only do job but help others do their jobs."

The Bulldogs open their Missouri Valley Conference slate next Saturday (Oct. 8) hosting Bradley in a 7:00 p.m. affair at the Cownie Soccer Complex.