SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Drake women's soccer team picked up a key point in the Missouri Valley Conference standings after earning a 0-0 double-overtime tie at Missouri State (5-7-3, 2-0-2 MVC) on Friday (Oct. 18).
The tie came against a Bear squad that entered the week leading the MVC and snapped a three-game losing streak for the Bulldogs (2-9-4, 0-2-1 MVC) at Missouri State.
“Tonight was a hard fought game in difficult conditions,” Drake head coach Lindsey Horner commented. “We were in our defensive end for stretches of the first half, but were organized in the back and determined to protect our keeper. In the second half, we sorted our midfield pressure out and this allowed us to win the ball back higher up on the field. We spent a lot of time in our attacking half, but Missouri State is always difficult to break down at home.”
The contest proved to be a defensive struggle over the game's first 45 minutes as the Bulldogs entered halftime in a scoreless tie despite being outshot in the initial stanza, 12-1, including 4-1 on goal.
Drake outshot the Bears in the second half, 3-2, but neither side was able to find the back of the net sending the affair into overtime.
In the first overtime, both teams were held without a shot.
In the second overtime, freshman Kayla Armstrong (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Xavier) had her header attempt off a corner kick by senior Brittany Schuling (Bondurant, Iowa/Bondurant-Farrar) blocked at the 104:38 mark, while sophomore Emma Winstead's (Iowa City, Iowa/Iowa City West) shot in the 110th minute (109:12) sailed high.
Missouri State finished the evening with a 16-6 margin in shots, including 5-1 on goal.
Six different players registered a shot each for the Bulldogs, while a pair of three-shot performances from Rachel Weimer and Molly Huber paced the Bears.
Junior Andrea Swanson (Clive, Iowa/Valley) made a game-high five saves for Drake en route to her second shutout of the season, while Jessica Perry made one stop for Missouri State.
“We have missed Ashlie Stokes the past few games, but we have players that are improving box to box and with the guidance of our seniors they're impacting our style,” said Horner. “Players such as Becca Rodgers and Sarah Grace Nicholson were a big part of who we were tonight. Tori Flynn was fantastic in her home state in the second half and the overtimes. We needed to pick up a point on the road, so it is satisfying to earn both a shutout tonight and a point. We must take care of business on Wednesday with Loyola.”
Drake returns to action hosting Loyola on Wednesday (Oct. 23) at 7:00 p.m. at the Cownie Soccer Complex.
