DES MOINES, Iowa. - The Drake
women's soccer team opened the Missouri Valley Conference portion of its
schedule in style on Saturday (Sept. 22) as the Bulldogs extended their
school-record winning streak to eight with a 3-0 victory past Missouri State at
the Cownie Soccer Complex.
The triumph enabled Drake to establish a new standard for winning
streaks surpassing the previous school record of seven, which occurred during
both the 2003 and 2004 campaigns.
After a sluggish start to their showdown with the Bears, the Bulldogs
awoke from their slumber capitalizing on momentum when freshman Rhian Pritchard (Overland Park,
Kan./Blue Valley North) scored her first career goal at the 30:17 mark to give
the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead. Junior Brittany Schuling (Bondurant,
Iowa/Bondurant-Farrar) earned the assist on what proved to be the game-winning
tally.
Drake maintained its 1-0 advantage until the 76th minute (75:19) when
junior Generve Charles (Wausau,
Wis./Wausau East) netted her fifth goal of the season. Schuling delivered a ball into the box
on a corner kick that junior Megan Fisher (Ankeny, Iowa/Ankeny) knocked flush off the post before a diving
Charles headed the ball into the net.
Senior Laura Moklestad (Des
Moines, Iowa/Roosevelt) capped the scoring with her third goal of the campaign
at the 78:39 mark. Registering the
assist on the tally was senior Kelsey Pigg (Waukee, Iowa/Waukee).
The Bulldogs won the battle of shots in the affair, 19-17, and were
directed by five shots from sophomore Ashlie Stokes (Sioux City, Iowa/Sioux City North), while Moklestad added four
shots. Michelle Sommer garnered a
four-shot effort for Missouri State.
Junior Kalena Litch
(Plymouth, Minn./Wayzata) pulled in seven saves for Drake en route to notching
her fifth shutout of the season.
Chelsea Voet collected seven saves for the Bears.
The Bulldogs return to action on Thursday (Sept. 27) with a 7:00 p.m.
tilt at Northern Iowa.
