AUGUST 24, 2011
DES MOINES, Iowa - Sean Lewis' goal in the 82nd minute (81:39) lifted Loras to
a 4-3 men's soccer victory over Drake in exhibition play on Wednesday (Aug. 24)
at the Cownie Soccer Complex.
"I guess you'd file this under good experience for the
younger players," Bulldog head coach Sean Holmes commented. "I was pleased with the first 30-35
minutes when we played most of our starting 11, bar Hunter (Kennedy) who was
absent for class, and Mike (Noonan) who was a bit under the weather. Then I thought we were good and moved
the ball around and defended pretty well, but preseason games are ultimately
for learning and teaching so I was glad we were able to give freshmen and
younger players so many significant minutes."
"When you play a team regardless of the division they are
in, if they are constantly an Elite Eight and Final Four team like Loras is,
then you're going to be in for a game.
I think sometimes players, especially those who haven't established
themselves at Division I are a little bit caught off guard by that."
In a contest that Drake played its starters for only the
first half, the Hawks opened the scoring in the affair when Kevin Cavers netted
a goal at the 23:18 mark.
Less than a minute later in the 25th minute (24:15), senior Matt Kuhn (Raytown,
Mo./Raytown South) connected on a penalty kick to tie the game at one.
The Bulldogs went ahead by a 2-1 margin after redshirt
junior David Parato (St. Louis, Mo./Chaminade Prep) directed a header past Loras goalkeeper
Nathan Dubois off a corner kick from sophomore Addison Eck (Springfield, Ill./Sacred Heart
Griffin) at the 36:11 mark.
The advantage held until Donald St. George netted the
equalizer on a penalty kick in the 58th minute (57:44).
Redshirt sophomore Nick Mims (Davenport, Iowa/Davenport Central)
pushed the lead to 3-2 in favor of Drake registering a goal at the 66:02 mark.
Fifty-four seconds later the Hawks squared the game at three
after Louie Oswald drilled a laser that beat redshirt sophomore Rich Gallagher (Lake
Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest Academy).
Lewis then netted the game-winning tally at the 81:39 mark.
"Their third and fourth goals were absolutely terrific and I
think it was good for us," Holmes explained. "I think we have a 99 percent certainty on who the starting
11 is, but our biggest purpose I think has been trying to shape what the 18-20
are when we start traveling to Chicago, Macomb and California. I think tonight
that it bore some fruit in that we got to see who is prepared to stand up right
now under the pressure, consistently."
Loras registered a 12-10 advantage in shots, including 7-4
in the second half.
St George paced all players with a game-high four shots for
the Hawks, while the Bulldogs received two shots apiece from Eck, Kuhn and
Parato.
Redshirt senior Jordan Kadlec (Hiawatha, Iowa/C.R. Kennedy)
pulled in two saves for Drake, while Gallagher made one stop. Dubois was credited with four saves for
Loras.
"No one likes to lose, of course, all of us in coaching and
sport don't want to lose but sometimes if it has a greater purpose then that
isn't entirely a bad thing," said Holmes.
The Bulldogs open their campaign on Saturday (Aug. 27) with
a 7:00 p.m. tilt at Loyola of Chicago.
