AMES, Iowa – The Drake women's soccer team saw its modest two-game winning streak snapped on Friday (Sept. 19) as a pair of first-half goals lifted Iowa State (6-3) to a 2-0 triumph over the Bulldogs (4-5).
“We looked nervous during the first 20 minutes and didn't trust ourselves to break Iowa State's pressure,” Drake head coach Lindsey Horner commented. “Unfortunately, by the time we calmed down and took care of the ball we were down two goals. We made three silly errors tonight and got punished on two of them, which Big XII teams will do.”
Hayley Womack scored what proved to be the game-winning goal for Iowa State in the game's 14th minute (13:25) to give the Cyclones an early 1-0 advantage.
Kaley Nieters nearly pushed Iowa State's lead to 2-0 at the 15:17 mark if not for a team save by junior Kylie DeHaven (Olathe, Kan./Olathe), a stop that prevented the Cyclones from scoring.
Just over four minutes later at the 19:35 mark, Hayley Albert extended Iowa State's lead to 2-0 on the strength of her first goal of the season.
The Bulldogs were outshot in the initial stanza, 11-4, including 4-1 on net.
On the evening, Iowa State registered a 16-5 margin in shots, including 8-2 on goal.
Junior Rhian Pritchard (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley North) paced Drake with a team-high two-shot effort, both of which felll on frame. Koree Willer led the Cyclones with a game-high five shots.
Pritchard recorded the Bulldogs' only shots on goal in the contest at the 6:16 and 49:28 marks, respectively.
Sophomore goalkeeper Kylynn Moyer (Omaha, Neb./Millard North) pulled in five saves for Drake, while Andrea Swanson, who played for the Bulldogs last season, made two saves for Iowa State.
“In our overall development leading into MVC play, tonight's game could serve us well in the long run,” said Horner. “In the last 70 minutes we were tough to break down and kept play in front of us. We had a fair share of the possession; we just didn't create much in the final third. With two games coming quickly before we open with Evansville we have to take responsibility to be sharp from the start both individually and collectively.”
Drake returns to action on Sunday (Sept. 21) hosting North Dakota State in a 1:00 p.m. contest at the Cownie Soccer Complex.
