SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - The Drake men's soccer team battled for 110 minutes before earning a hard-fought 0-0 double-overtime draw at Cal Poly (5-2-2) on Friday (Sept. 26).
“Only in soccer can you celebrate a tie, a terrific performance by us tonight at a very challenging away opponent,” Drake head coach Sean Holmes commented. “Cal Poly is very, very good and had a large supportive crowd tonight which made it an intimidating place to play.”
“Some people will think we came here just to fight and not give up a goal, but that isn't our style. We created good chances throughout the course of the game, and there was perhaps only one lucky moment when they missed a chance late in the game back post.”
The two teams battled through a scoreless first half with the Bulldogs (2-4-2) registering a 9-8 advantage in shots. Each side recorded a pair of shots on goal in the game's initial 45 minutes.
Neither team was willing to give in during the final stanza as it took nearly 25 minutes before a shot on goal was registered.
Freshman Mason Leonard (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley Northwest) ripped off the first shot on goal of the second half for either team at the 69:00 mark. His attempt though was thwarted by a two-handed save by Cal Poly goalkeeper Wade Hamilton.
Sean Dhillion collected the Mustangs' first shot on goal in the second half in the 79th minute (78:58), but was stonewalled by a save from redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Darrin MacLeod (Waterloo, Ontario/Resurrection Catholic).
Justin Dhillion registered two shots on goal for Cal Poly at the 80:32 and 82:28 marks, respectively, but was unable to get the ball past MacLeod on either attempt.
Justin Dhillion nearly won the game for the Mustangs in the 88th minute (87:33) as his header went wide.
Cal Poly registered an 8-4 margin in second-half shots, including 3-1 on goal.
The Mustangs scored what appeared to be the game-winning goal at the 92:39 mark only to see the tally waived off by an offside call.
Sophomore Mueng Sunday's (Coralville, Iowa/Iowa City West) shot attempt in the 99th minute (98:30) nearly won the game for Drake, but his strike from the top of the box went wide.
The Bulldogs were outshot in the first overtime period by a 3-1 margin.
In the second overtime session, redshirt sophomore Ben LeMay's (Hugo, Minn./Saint Thomas Academy) shot at the 102:32 mark was blocked before junior Eric Williams' (West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley) attempt in the 104th minute (103:23) went wide.
“The back four and Darrin (MacLeod) were absolutely terrific tonight and Ben (LeMay) and Mueng (Sunday) probably played their best games in the center of the midfield,” said Holmes. “What made tonight especially special was we told the guys that it will require more than the starting 11 to get results on the road and we had key performances off the bench to get the result.”
The Mustangs finished the affair outshooting Drake, 19-16, including 6-3 on net. A four-shot performance from Williams led Drake, while Leonard and redshirt junior Alec Bartlett (Overland Park, Kan./St. James Academy) each contributed three shots, while a game-high seven-shot effort from Hamilton paced Cal Poly.
Holmes praised the play of his bench in helping the Bulldogs secure the road shutout.
“One of the most challenging aspects in any endeavor is to be a sub. You have to remember that nearly all our players were accomplished at whatever level of play they came from, so to come and play supporting roles with every single guy making an impact off the bench is rewarding.”
MacLeod registered a game-high six saves en route to garnering his second-consecutive shutout and second overall of the season, while Hamilton collected three saves for Cal Poly, also recording the shutout.
“I think that the self-belief of the team is growing and they realize when we come to play and fight that we can play with any team in the country,” explained Holmes. “To do so with such a young team is gratifying. If you believe that the pre-conference schedule prepares you for the rigors of conference play, then tonight did that.”
Drake returns to action on Sunday (Sept. 28) with an 8:00 p.m. CT tilt at UC Santa Barbara.
