EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - A trio of first-half goals proved too much for the Drake men's soccer team to overcome as the Bulldogs (3-8-2, 1-2 MVC) suffered a 4-0 setback at SIU Edwardsville (4-6-2, 4-0 MVC) on Saturday (Oct. 18).
“I think conference games in college soccer are always super-competitive and the guys have to be prepared to fight and scrap for every point,” Drake head coach Sean Holmes commented. “I don't think we were particularly great out of the gate, but the two first goals we gave up on uncharacteristic mistakes by our goalkeeper were at the very least unfortunate. I think if we had survived the early pressure that SIUE put on us that we would have been alright.”
Justin Bilyeu registered what proved to be the game-winning goal at the 5:01 mark for the Cougars.
SIU Edwardsville also garnered tallies in the 37th (36:40) and 40th (39:39) minutes, respectively, to assume a 3-0 lead at halftime.
The Cougars capped their scoring efforts at the 58:57 mark when Christian Volesky registered his team-leading seventh goal of the season.
“I was much more pleased with the effort and performance in the second half where we showed more resolve and intelligence,” said Holmes. “Our youth was exposed and I think that at times we lacked composure and grit. When you are young and less experienced, you can never give less than 100-percent effort.”
SIU Edwardsville recorded a 15-2 advantage in shots on the evening, including 6-0 on goal. Junior Eric Williams (West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley) and sophomore James Wypych (Wellington, New Zealand) accounted for the Bulldogs' shots. A game-high three-shot performance from Volesky led the Cougars.
Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Darrin MacLeod (Waterloo, Ontario/Resurrection Catholic) collected two saves for Drake.
“There were some positives tonight and I guess the fact that we were able to clear the bench the last 20 minutes will help us somewhere in the short term and down the road,” explained Holmes. “SIUE are deservedly undefeated in the MVC despite the rough start to its season and they are a solid and legitimate title contender.”
Holmes offered praise to his two captains in redshirt juniors Kyle Whigham (Overland Park, Kan./St. Thomas Aquinas) and Alec Bartlett (Overland Park, Kan./St. James Academy).
“I thought our two captains in Kyle (Whigham) and Alec (Bartlett) fought valiantly to the very end. Their challenge as captains will be to drag others along with them.”
Drake returns to action hosting Western Illinois in a 7:00 p.m. tilt on Tuesday (Oct. 21) at the Cownie Soccer Complex.
“Now we turn our attention to another tough mid-week tilt with Western Illinois, which is always a heated derby with six Iowa kids on its roster,” said Holmes.
