SEPTEMBER 9, 2011
DES MOINES, Iowa - A golden goal by senior Charles Schwartz (Bettendorf, Iowa/Bettendorf) at the 92:29 mark in overtime propelled Drake (3-1-1) to a come-from-behind 2-1 men's soccer victory past UMKC (0-4) in the Bulldogs' home opener on Friday (Sept. 9) at the Cownie Soccer Complex.
"Once again we found a way to extricate ourselves from a tight jam," Drake head coach Sean Holmes commented. "In some ways we played really, really well, but our lack of fire and commitment in the final third really hurt us. We got stung by a goal against the run of play and that seemed to be that slap in the face we always seem to need to get us going."
"The challenge for our team this year will be to play with that sense of urgency and desire in the first minute and not wait until the late rounds to come out fighting, because we will play better teams eventually that once they have us on our heels will put us a way, a little like UC Irvine did last week."
The Kangaroos stole the momentum in the affair striking first when Franklin Washington netted an unassisted tally in the 60th minute (59:49) on a ball that bounded past redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Rich Gallagher (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest Academy) and bounced hitting the cross bar before trickling past the line for a 1-0 lead.
Schwartz evened the tilt for Drake at one at the 71:33 mark delivering a ball from the top of the box past UMKC goalkeeper Kyle Martin.
Despite outshooting the Kangaroos in the contest, 18-12, the game was ultimately decided in overtime.
Senior Thomas Ostrander (Fort Dodge, Iowa/St. Edmond Catholic) pushed the ball forward into the attack and drew a hard foul just outside the box. Schwartz took the free kick and nailed a ball into the goal for the game-winner.
"It is typical that Charlie (Schwartz) and Thomas (Ostrander) combined for the goal," said Holmes. "Ostrander fighting to draw the foul and for Charlie to step up, and before he even stepped up I felt it was going to happen after his four assists at USD and the early goal, left-footed no less, was pure gold."
One of the stars of the game for the Bulldogs was Gallagher, who entered the contest just over 17 minutes in replacing injured senior Jordan Kadlec (Hiawatha, Iowa/Kennedy).
Gallagher went on to record three saves, while Martin registered six stops.
"I was most happy for Rich (Gallagher) who has spent over two years practicing and waiting for this moment and of course its not always the way you want it, but for him to step up and make a couple of big-time saves that changed the game is always good," Holmes explained. "There are a lot of guys on the bench waiting for their chance and when it comes in whatever way it does, it is always super-gratifying to have a guy step up and grab the opportunity. We thought we had some depth at the goalkeeper position and now that confirms it a little bit."
Ostrander paced all players with a game-high five shots, while sophomore Bryan Jantsch (Mission Hills, Kan./Rockhill) and senior Michael Noonan (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Xavier) each contributed three shots. Zach Balthazar led the Kangaroos with four shots.
"I thought big kudos to Bryan (Jantsch) out of the back, whose service and composure was very, very good," Holmes stated.
Holmes was also encouraged by the contributions of redshirt junior Jordan Stanley (Roscoe, Ill./Harlem) off the bench.
"Jordan (Stanley) came in for the last 19.5 minutes and changed the game. Addison (Eck) did a lot of good work and Matt (Kuhn) always does, but Jordan won balls, he kept possession and he played players in dangerous positions and that made the big difference in the game."
The victory enabled Drake to improve to 16-10 all-time in home openers, including 11-3 under Holmes.
"We always feel at home we're not going to lose, of course everyone feels that way in sports and statistically that is backed up, but once the sun set and the crowd got a little loud, I felt that'd eventually would happen," Holmes commented.
The Bulldogs close out their brief two-game homestand on Sunday (Sept. 11) as Drake hosts Fordham in a 1:00 p.m. matinee affair.
