DES MOINES, Iowa - Mere inches separated the Drake women's soccer team from its first victory of the season on Sunday (Sept. 15) as Southeast Missouri State's Erin Shulman delivered a golden goal with 17 seconds left in the first overtime to give the Redhawks a 2-1 win over the Bulldogs at the Cownie Soccer Complex.
Drake (0-6-2) nearly won the contest at the 98:25 mark when senior Paige Dusek (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) connected on a shot which appeared destined for the back of the net if not for a lunging team save by Southeast Missouri State (1-4-1).
“Each team had an obvious advantage when they were with the wind,” Bulldog head coach Lindsey Horner commented. “We should have given ourselves more of a cushion in the first half when we had the wind. Again, we didn't finish our chances when we were on top.”
“We defended for the majority of the second half partially due to the wind, but mostly because we didn't maintain possession enough, but instead kept looking for the killer pass, that led to a turnover and having to defend in transition.”
Drake dominated the offensive output on the afternoon registering a 24-14 margin in shots. Unfortunately, the Bulldogs were unable to capitalize on their 16 shots on goal as Ashton Aubuchon and Lauren Meyer combined for 14 saves for the Redhawks.
Drake garnered the first goal in the affair in the most unlikely of fashions as senior Brittany Schuling's (Bondurant, Iowa/Bondurant-Farrar) corner kick bent in front of the goal and hit net at the 20:32 mark for her first goal of the season.
The lead held up for the Bulldogs until Natasha Minor delivered a strike from the top of the box in the 85th minute (84:40) that beat junior goalkeeper Andrea Swanson (Clive, Iowa/Valley).
Freshmen Kayla Armstrong (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/Xavier) and Rebecca Rodgers (Peotone, Ill./Peotone) led all players with a game-high five shots for Drake, while Dusek and junior Ashlie Stokes (Sioux City, Iowa/Sioux City North) added four shots apiece. Three different Redhawks each recorded two shots.
Meyer finished the game with nine saves for Southeast Missouri State, while Aubuchon added five stops in the first half. Swanson recorded four saves for Drake.
“Our game management with the lead with 10 minutes to go wasn't good, nor when we were into the wind in the first overtime, and that's on me,” said Horner. “It hurts to statistically dominate all but the final score, but when we make consecutive and repetitive mistakes we become easy to breakdown. It will be really important for us to gain momentum in these next two games leading into conference.”
The Bulldogs return to action on Friday (Sept. 20) with a 3:30 p.m. tilt at Eastern Illinois.
