AUGUST 29, 2011
MACOMB, Ill. - Senior Michael Noonan's (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Xavier)
bicycle-kick goal in the fourth minute (3:36) accounted for the lone tally for
the Drake men's soccer team in the Bulldogs' 1-1 double-overtime tie at Western
Illinois on Monday (Aug. 29).
"Oddly enough I was please with our result today," Drake
head coach Sean Holmes commented. "To play two sturdy opponents in a space of 48 hours on the
road and to stay undefeated is a minor accomplishment of sorts."
"We again scored early and then failed to hold our lead
getting countered on a corner kick in the 21st minute, but there were some real
moments of quality today where we possessed the ball and moved it forward to
create great scoring chances."
Noonan's goal off an assist by sophomore Bryan Jantsch (Mission Hills, Kan./Rockhurst)
provided the Bulldogs an early 1-0 advantage.
"Michael (Noonan's) bicycle-kick goal was absolutely
stunning," said Holmes. "You might
argue that perhaps scoring so early gave us an unearned sense of superiority,
but year-in and year-out Macomb is one of the hardest venues to play."
The lead held until Hilary Esangbedo netted the equalizer at
the 20:19 mark off a feed from Aaron Appel on a corner kick.
Western Illinois garnered a 20-12 advantage in shots in the
affair, led by a game-high five shots by Charlie Bales. The Bulldogs were paced by three shots
from senior Charles Schwartz (Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf) and two apiece courtesy of
Noonan and sophomore Addison Eck (Springfield, Ill./Sacred Heart Griffin).
Senior Jordan Kadlec (Hiawatha, Iowa/Kennedy) turned in a strong
performance in net for Drake registering a game-high eight saves. Andy Ryan pulled in a five saves for
the Leathernecks.
"Jordan (Kadlec) was nearly invincible making big saves at
key moments in the match," Holmes explained.
The Bulldogs got strong contributions off the bench as
Holmes was able to play 18 players led by redshirt junior Jordan Stanley (Roscoe, Ill./Harlem).
"It was good to welcome back Jordan (Stanley) from injury as
he gave us a key 20 minutes," Holmes stated. "To be able to play 18 guys today we were able to see the
potential of some of our younger players and what they may be able to
contribute to the squad in the long run.
I thought our outside backs in Bryan (Jantsch) and Logan (North), along
with his understudy Kyle (Whigham) give us the width and intelligence we need
to be successful over the long run.
We're an odd mixture of experience and youth and as we build cohesion I think
we'll get better with every progressive week."
The Bulldogs return to action on Friday (Sept. 2) with a
9:00 p.m. CT tilt at San Diego.
