DES MOINES, Iowa - The Drake
men's soccer team rolled off three unanswered goals en route to a 3-1
victory past Loyola (0-2) on Friday (Aug. 31) at the Cownie Soccer Complex.
The win marked the fifth consecutive triumph in a home opener for the
Bulldogs (1-2) and moved Drake to 17-10-0 ledger all-time in home lidlifters,
including 12-3-0 under head coach Sean Holmes.
Junior Nick Marshall (Glen
Carbon, Ill./Edwardsville) collected the Bulldogs' initial goal of both the
game and the season when he connected on a header at the 18:52 mark to give
Drake a 1-0 lead. Setting up the scoring
opportunity off a corner kick was junior Addison Eck (Springfield, Ill./Sacred Heart Griffin).
The two sides waged back-and-forth soccer over nearly the next 55
minutes before junior Logan North
(St. Charles, Mo./Francis Howell North) cashed in redirecting a deflection into
the net for his first goal of the season in the 74th minute (73:25).
Eck capped the scoring barrage for the Bulldogs' and extended Drake's advantage
to 3-0 scoring his first tally of the year at the 83:47 mark. The goal was served in from the top of
the box off an assist by freshman Ben LeMay (Hugo, Minn./Saint Thomas Academy).
The Ramblers thwarted the shutout bid by redshirt junior goalkeeper Rich Gallagher (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake
Forest Academy) and Drake with a goal by Andrew Raymonds in the 89th minute
(88:47). Brian Lunar was credited
with the assist on the tally.
The Bulldogs narrowly won the advantage in shots, 10-9, with Marshall
recording a team-best three shots.
Loyola was paced by a game-best four shots from Ryan Howe.
Gallagher pulled in four saves in goal for Drake, while his counterpart,
Peter McKeown recorded one stop.
The Bulldogs return to action on Sunday (Sept. 2) hosting Marquette in a
2:00 p.m. contest at the Cownie Soccer Complex. The Golden Eagles are receiving votes in the latest National
Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) National Top-25 poll.
