DES MOINES, Iowa – Senior
James Wypych (Wellington, New Zealand) scored a late goal for the Drake University men's soccer team as the Bulldogs rallied past Green Bay, 2-1, Tuesday, Sept. 13 evening in its home opener at the Cownie Soccer Complex.
This match was later forfeited by Drake after it was determined they used an ineligible player.
"It was a difficult and different challenge for us as Green Bay came to set in deep," said head coach
Gareth Smith. "We had to carry the game to them and break them down. That's not easy when you have 10 men behind the ball committed and organized. Our performance and work ethic was good. We could have improved our ball circulation, but it was a real character test to be able to come from down 1-0 to win 2-1 against a very well organized and defensively minded team."
Drake (4-2) fell behind midway through the opening half as Green Bay (1-5) struck for the game's first goal in the 25
th minute (25:34). Andre Baires scored off a free kick from 35 yards to put the Phoenix up 1-0, a lead they took to halftime.
Drake, who more than doubled Green Bay on shots with 15 to six in the game, turned to a familiar face for the equalizer midway through the second half.
Junior
Steven Enna (Overland Park, Kan.), who Monday was named Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Week for his performances last week in wins over Milwaukee and UMKC, in the 53
rd minute (53:53) headed a ball in the right corner of the net off a deep pass into the box from freshman
Antonio Sanchez (Coralville, Iowa). Enna has three goals in the last three matches. Sanchez has two assists in his first season.
The two teams traded shots after Enna's goal, but it was the Bulldogs who broke through. Wypych's game winning goal was scored in the 79
th minute (79:43) as the senior beat the Green Bay defense and blasted his shot into the right corner to take a 2-1 lead. Wypych has score goals in back-to-back matches as he scored in Drake's 2-0 win at UMKC this past Saturday. He and Enna are tied for the team lead in goals with three each.
The Bulldogs held off a late charge from the Phoenix to win their third straight match. Redshirt senior goalie
Darrin MacLeod (Waterloo, Ontario) finished two saves. Wypych had a game-high seven shots and played 74 minutes.
Drake opens MVC play, Sept. 17, when Loyola visits Cownie. First kick is set for 7 p.m.
"We're looking forward to the Loyola game," Smith said. "We're going in off the back of three wins. We're in good spirits but Loyola will be tough test. They're in good form this year and we're looking forward to the challenge and look to get another result at home."
