Men's Soccer 10/27/2013 12:00:00 AM Drake Athletics

Bulldogs Capitalize On Senior Night With 2-1 Victory Past Bradley

DES MOINES, Iowa - Sophomore Eric Williams (West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley) picked an opportune time to score his first two goals of the season as his efforts sparked the Drake men's soccer team to a 2-1 Missouri Valley Conference victory past Bradley (8-5-2, 2-1-1 MVC) on Senior Night on Saturday (Oct. 26) at the Cownie Soccer Complex.

The Bulldogs (8-5-3, 3-1-1 MVC) and Braves battled through a scoreless first half with Bradley registering a 9-5 advantage in shots in the game's initial 45 minutes.

Drake broke the stalemate in the 60th minute (59:25) when Williams connected on a header at the top of the six-yard box that beat Braves' goalkeeper Brian Billings. The goal was set-up as a result of passes from redshirt sophomore Alec Bartlett (Overland Park, Kan./St. James Academy) into senior Bryan Jantsch (Mission Hills, Kan./Rockhurst) before Williams connected on his first goal of the season.

Williams extended Drake's lead to 2-0 delivering a nearly identical goal at the 65:01 mark off an assist from Jantsch.

The Braves cut the deficit in half in the 77th minute (76:48) when Christian Okeke sent a laser that sailed past the goal line before being knocked out by a diving redshirt freshman goalkeeper Darrin MacLeod (Waterloo, Ontario/Resurrection Catholic).

The Bulldogs were able to contain the Braves' pressure, including a pair of shots on goal over the final 13:12, to secure a 2-1 victory.

Bradley finished the affair posting a 20-10 margin in shots, including 11-5 in the second half.

A game-high five-shot performance by Andrew Wojcik led the Braves, while senior Addison Eck (Springfield, Ill./Sacred Heart Griffin) paced the Bulldogs with a team-high three shots.

MacLeod recorded seven saves for Drake, including four in the second half, while Billings pulled in four stops for Bradley.

In a special pre-game ceremony the Bulldogs honored seniors Garrett Crall (Norwalk, Iowa), Eck, Rich Gallagher (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest Academy), Jantsch, Nick Marshall (Glen Carbon, Ill./Edwardsville) and Jackson Teeling (Waukee, Iowa/Dowling Catholic) along with fourth-year juniors Jarred Arde (Gulfport, Miss./Gulfport), Logan North (St. Charles, Mo./Francis Howell North) and Kevin Wilson (Ballwin, Mo./Chaminade College Prep).