DES MOINES, Iowa – For the second straight season the Drake women's soccer team and the Loyola Ramblers battled to a scoreless double-overtime draw in Missouri Valley Conference regular season action.

Drake (6-8-1, 3-0-1 MVC) and Loyola (6-6-4, 1-1-2 MVC) each earned a point in the standings for the Saturday (Oct. 17) 0-0 contest at Cownie Soccer Complex as the Bulldogs maintain their first place lead over Missouri State, who beat Illinois State Saturday night as the Bears are 3-1 in MVC play. Drake and Missouri State will meet in Springfield, Mo. on Oct. 24.

“We worked hard to earn our first shutout tonight,” said head coach Lindsey Horner. “Brooke Dennis was very clean in net for us, and Emma Winstead (Iowa City, Iowa) was big for us, but at times we got a bit lucky defensively. We didn't get much going in the attack yet still created a few chances we need to bury. Rebecca Rodgers worked so hard to create some chaos for Loyola's defense, creating a few half chances. We certainly made the game difficult for ourselves by not executing with our final ball and setting Loyola up for the counter.”

The teams battled to a 0-0 score in the opening half as they each recorded four shots. Freshman Alyssa Brand (Skokie, Ill.) led the Bulldogs with two shots on goal, both of which were good looks but sailed over the crossbar.

Each team recorded eight shots in the second half as Rodgers (Peotone, Ill.) had two shots miss wide while Brand tallied two shots that were saved by Ramblers goalie Maddie Ford. Ford finished with five saves while Bulldogs goalie Brooke Dennis (Wauconda, Ill.) had a career-high 11 saves.

Rodgers had a scoring opportunity right away in the first overtime period as the junior midfielder made a nice move to create a shot only to be denied with a team save by the Loyola defense. Drake ended the night with 15 shots while Loyola had 17. The Bulldogs had three shots in the two overtimes while the Ramblers had five.

“Overall I'm pleased with how we battled throughout this game,” Horner said. “Tonight's game wasn't the prettiest, but we showed grit and if anything throughout this MVC season we've demonstrated that we are a resilient group that can adapt how we play on a given night.”

Drake welcomes UNI to Cownie on Oct. 21 in its regular season home finale. A senior night recognition ceremony for Mariah Boncek (Fishers, Ind.), Kylie DeHaven (Olathe, Kan.), Rhian Pritchard (Prairie Village, Kan.), Tricia White (Overland Park, Kan.) and Winstead will be held on the field prior to the 7 p.m. game between the in-state rivals.

“We have a few days to recover and prepare for what will be a crucial game for league standings on Wednesday night,” commented Horner. “We are going to see a hungry UNI side and we will have to put our stamp on the game early.”