DES MOINES, Iowa - Turning in a strong performance on Senior Night, the Drake
men's soccer team earned a key point in the race for a berth in the upcoming
Missouri Valley Conference Tournament with a 2-2 double-overtime tie with
Evansville (9-6-1, 3-1-1 MVC) on Saturday (Oct. 27) at the Cownie Soccer Complex.
The tie enabled the Bulldogs (4-10-4, 1-2-2 MVC) to qualify for the tournament
while sending out its quartet of seniors in Joe Lyons (West Des Moines, Iowa/Dowling
Catholic), Nick Mims (Davenport, Iowa/Davenport Central), Jackson Teeling (Waukee, Iowa/Waukee) and Michael Thaden (West Des
Moines, Iowa/Valley) on a positive note in their final home game.
The Purple Aces broke open a scoreless contest in the 27th
minute (26:08) when Mark Gonzalez connected on his fourth goal of the
year. Dylan Terry feed the ball
into Gonzalez from the top of the box to earn an assist on the tally.
Netting the equalizer for Drake at the 43:27 mark with his
first goal of the year was junior Brian Grand (North Branch, Minn./North
Branch). Thaden delivered the ball
into Grand from the corner of box to register the assist.
The Bulldogs garnered an 11-9 shot advantage in the first
half led by four and three shots, respectively, courtesy of Grand and redshirt sophomore Jarred Arde (Gulfport,
Miss./Gulfport).
The contest remained deadlocked at one until Drake was
whistled for a foul in the box in the 69th minute (68:39) resulting in a
penalty kick for Evansville.
Striking the shot to give the Purple Aces a 2-1 lead was Faik Hajderovic.
Less than two minutes later at the 70:28 mark, Evansville
was tagged with a foul in the box to provide the Bulldogs with a penalty-kick
opportunity. Fittingly on Senior
Night, it was Thaden who stepped over the ball and converted the kick to square
the tilt at two.
Both sides had opportunities in the waning minutes of the
second half, but neither team was able to convert. The best chance came off the foot of Grand, who's shot at
the 76:46 mark was thwarted only by an Evansville team save.
The Bulldogs registered a 4-2 advantage in shots in overtime,
but neither side was able to find the back of the net.
Grand paced all players with a team-high five shots, while
Arde and junior Addison Eck (Springfield, Ill./Sacred Heart Griffin) added three shots
apiece for Drake. Hajderovic led
Evansville with a game-high six shots.
A game-best six saves from redshirt junior Rich Gallagher (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest
Academy) led the Bulldogs, while Eric Teppen made five stops for the Purple
Aces.
Drake closes its regular season with a 7:00 p.m. tilt at
Missouri State on Friday (Nov. 2).
