DES MOINES, Iowa - The Drake men's soccer team got back to the basics and the results of the squad's hard work and perseverance showed as the Bulldogs (3-8-3) battled a Western Illinois (8-4-2) squad that was riding a six-game winning streak to a 1-1 double-overtime tie on Tuesday (Oct. 21) at the Cownie Soccer Complex.
The two sides managed a nearly scoreless first half before the Leathernecks cracked the scoring column first in the 44th minute (43:47) on the sixth goal of the season from Charlie Bales.
Western Illinois took a 1-0 lead into the intermission despite being outshot by the Bulldogs in the initial stanza, 7-6, including 4-3 on net.
Drake netted the equalizer at the 46:18 mark when junior Eric Williams (West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley) headed in a corner kick off the foot of sophomore James Wypych (Wellington, New Zealand) for his second goal of the season. The tally snapped a 586:18 stretch in which the Leathernecks had not surrendered a goal.
The Bulldogs caught a fortuitous break in the 63rd minute (62:25) when Fernando Pacheco's 1v1 shot from the right side of the box sailed just wide hitting the side netting on what to the naked eye appeared to be a go-ahead goal.
The two sides exchanged shots down the stretch with Drake outshooting Western Illinois in the second period, 12-9.
The Bulldogs nearly netted the game-winning tally in the 87th minute as Williams netted a shot at the 86:03 mark that was saved by goalkeeper Yves Dietrich before redshirt junior Alec Bartlett (Overland Park, Kan./St. James Academy) collected the rebound and squared a shot that Deitrich against thwarted at the 86:07 mark.
Drake managed a 2-1 margin in shots in the first overtime session with Dietrich making saves off attempts by freshman Mason Leonard (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley Northwest) and junior Alex Troester (Iowa City, Iowa/Iowa City West) at the 94:51 and 99:18 marks, respectively.
The Leathernecks registered a 4-1 advantage in shots in the second overtime, including 2-1 on goal.
Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Darrin MacLeod (Waterloo, Ontario/Resurrection Catholic) stopped shots by Mario Alvarez (101:17) and MacLean Johnson (108:59) in the final period for two of his six saves in the contest.
Dietrich corralled Troester's shot on goal at the 107:17 mark for the final of his game-high 11 saves.
Drake bettered Western Illinois on the evening in shots, 22-20, including 12-7 on goal. Wypcyh led the Bulldogs' attack with a team-high four shots, while Drake also received three shots apiece from Leonard, Troester, Bartlett and redshirt sophomore Ben LeMay (Hugo, Minn./Saint Thomas Academy). Bales recorded a game-high six shots for the Leathernecks.
The Bulldogs return to action on Saturday (Oct. 25) hosting Evansville in a Missouri Valley Conference showdown that will go a long way in sorting out seeding for next month's MVC Championship in Peoria, Ill. Game time at the Cownie Soccer Complex is set for 4:00 p.m.
