OCTOBER 7, 2011
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Bethany Smith's goal in the 14th minute (13:41) lifted
Missouri State (9-3-1, 3-0 MVC) to a 1-0 victory over Drake (3-6-4, 1-2 MVC) in
women's soccer action on Friday (Oct. 7).
"To go down a goal on a miscommunication error was somewhat
deflating," Bulldog head coach Lindsey Horner commented. "Missouri State is difficult to
breakdown and tough to play at their place. Their keeper is the real deal
and cleaned up a lot of our service in their box."
"We had some great
moments in the second half, but we had too many moments throughout the game
where we were inconsistent."
Smith registered her
fourth goal of the season beating sophomore goalkeeper Kalena Litch (Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) off
passes from Shelby Stewart and Tara Bailes.
Shots were nearly identical in the initial stanza with the
Bears owning a slim 7-6 advantage.
Missouri State went on to outshoot Drake, 17-12.
Sophomore Paige Dusek (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) and junior Laura Moklestad (Des
Moines, Iowa/Roosevelt) paced the Bulldogs' attack with three shots apiece,
while Smith led all players with a game-high six shots.
Moklestad had Drake's best scoring opportunity at 85:33 mark
when only a team save by the Missouri State defender prevented the Bulldogs
from netting the equalizer.
"This season we've relied on a lot of
players, whether its scoring goals, play-making, or setting the defensive
tone," said Horner. "We can go on the road and get a result with one or
two players not playing near their potential for 90 minutes, but not a
handful. With that said, we caused
them problems and kept attacking. With about three minutes left we had the
keeper beat and they had a team save."
Litch pulled in a game-high seven saves, while Jessica
Teahan recorded six stops for the Bears.
Drake returns to action on Sunday (Oct. 9) as the Bulldogs
host CSU Bakersfield at the Cownie Soccer Complex starting at 1:00 p.m. The contest will serve as Senior Day
for Drake with seniors Lauren Berner (Omaha, Neb./Westside), Angela Chigazola (Santa Rosa, Calif./Maria
Carilllo), Melanie Fielder (Burbank, Calif./Burbank), Danielle Figliola (Longmont, Colo./Silver Creek), Lindsey Johnston (Lincoln,
Neb./Southeast) and Amanda Wallace (Centennial, Colo./Cherry Creek) being honored in a
pre-game ceremony.
"We look forward to honoring our
seniors on Sunday with a non-conference match-up," Horner explained.
