BROOKINGS, S.D. - Sophomore
Ashlie Stokes (Sioux City,
Iowa/Sioux City North) picked an opportune time to register her team-leading
third goal of the season as her game-winning tally at the 74:35 mark lifted the
Drake women's soccer team to a 2-1 victory at South Dakota State (1-3-1) on
Friday (Aug. 31).
The win enabled the Bulldogs (3-2) to close their four-game road swing
with a 2-2 mark, while also surpassing their road victory total for all of the
2011 campaign.
"South Dakota State was fired up for their home-opener, so we knew
they would be tough opponent for the full 90 minutes," Drake head coach Lindsey Horner commented. "It was
unfortunate to concede the equalizing goal and let them back in the game, but
even when they had us on our heels we showed a bit of character, absorbed the
pressure and scored a fantastic goal. We showed maturity at the end of
the game and improvement in key areas from last weekend. We'll take this
momentum into our home stretch and look to continue to keep getting better."
The Bulldogs began the scoring in the affair in the ninth minute
(8:00) when junior Generve Charles
(Wausau, Wis./Wausau East) connected on an empty net goal. Earning assists on the tally were senior Laura Moklestad (Des Moines,
Iowa/Roosevelt) and freshman Rhian Pritchard (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley North).
The assist for Moklestad moved her into the top-10 in career assists
at Drake with eight.
The Jackrabbits netted the equalizer at the 52:33 mark off a goal
from Darci Miller. Megan Kingston
was credited with the assist,
South Dakota State garnered a 14-9 advantage in shots on the
evening, while Charles and Stokes registered four and three shots,
respectively, for Drake. Diana
Potterveld paced the Jackrabbits with a game-high four shots.
Junior Kalena Litch
(Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) pulled in five saves for the Bulldogs, while Elisa
Stamatakis posted two stops for South Dakota State.
Drake next battles North Dakota State in a 12:00 p.m. game on Sunday
(Sept. 2) at the Cownie Soccer Complex to begin a seven-match homestand for the
Bulldogs.
