AUGUST 21, 2011
DES MOINES, Iowa - On the
strength of two goals from junior Tara Zika (St. Louis, Mo./Ursuline), the Drake women's soccer team (1-1) registered
a come-from-behind 3-1 victory over Green Bay (1-1) on Sunday (Aug. 21) at the
Cownie Soccer Complex.
"After the wake-up call 30 seconds into the match, I felt we
responded," Bulldog head coach Lindsey Horner commented. "I was
impressed with our backs ability to adjust to the game and intercept entry
passes in the second half. Our decision-making in the second half was the best
it has been thus far this season. We were better at reading what the defense
was giving us and possessed a bit more when a bigger ball wasn't on."
Green Bay attacked Drake from the opening kick as Hekla
Palmadottir's strike nearly found its way into the net if not for a strong save
by sophomore Kalena Litch (Plymouth,
Minn./Wayzata).
The second shot by the Phoenix only 32 seconds in the affair did
result in a goal as Hannah Kernen's strike from the top of the box beat Litch
to give Green Bay a 1-0 lead.
Down 1-0, the Bulldogs had no choice but to attack the Phoenix
defense and the efforts were rewarded when Zika redirected a deflection off of
sophomore Generve Charles' (Wausau,
Wis./Wausau East) shot past Green Bay goalkeeper Maddie Drusch to square the
tilt at one at the 14:13 mark.
"We asked our attacking players to attack the box with and without
the ball and you could see our forwards and attacking midfielders trying this,
which resulted in great chances for us and three goals," said Horner.
The contest remained a back-and-forth battle for field position the
remainder of the half with Drake owning an 8-7 advantage in shots.
Zika registered what
proved to be the game-winning tally in the 47th minute (46:57) striking a
header off a corner kick by senior Angela Chigazola (Santa Rosa, Calif./Maria Carillo) that propelled off the Green
Bay defender and into the net for a 2-1 Bulldog lead.
Only a diving save by Drusch at the 49:48 mark prevented Zika from
recording her third unanswered goal of the afternoon.
Charles added Drake's final goal in the 59th minute (58:19)
delivering off a nifty give-and-go pass courtesy of freshman Katie Helmlinger (Cedar Rapids,
Iowa/Kennedy) to account for the 3-1 final.
The Phoenix outshot the Bulldogs in the affair, 16-14, including 9-6
in the second half. Junior Laura Moklestad (Des Moines,
Iowa/Roosevelt) paced Drake with a team-high four shots, while Zika, Charles,
senior Danielle Figliola (Longmont,
Colo./Silver Creek) and junior Megan Fisher (Ankeny, Iowa/Ankeny) registered three, two, two and two shots,
respectively.
Renee Therrien directed the Green Bay attack with a game-best five
shots.
Litch pulled in a game-high nine saves for Drake, while Drusch was
credited with seven stops of her own.
Horner was pleased with the ability of her bench to contribute as the
Bulldogs garnered strong performances in reserve duty from 10 players in the
match.
Drake returns to action on Friday (Aug. 26) traveling to Flagstaff,
Ariz., for the Mortenson Mountain Classic. The Bulldogs will face host Northern Arizona on Friday at
9:00 p.m. CT before battling Southern Utah on Sunday (Aug. 28) at 12:00 p.m.
CT.
