WEST DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University men's soccer team battled Loyola to a scoreless draw on Saturday afternoon in Missouri Valley Conference play on Tiger Field at Valley High School in West Des Moines.
 
Drake (3-8-1, 0-3-1 MVC) and Loyola (4-5-2, 0-3-1 MVC) had their match moved up and changed to the new turf surface at Valley because of heavy rain overnight which made the main field at Cownie Soccer Complex unplayable.
 
The Bulldogs outshot the Ramblers, 11-4, as Drake recorded six shots on goal and Loyola four. Senior Aleksi Tuominen (Helsinki, Finland) had a team-high two shots on goal, both coming off long free kicks that Loyola goalkeeper Evan Konermann made nice saves on. Junior Nic Jaimes (Olathe, Kan.) and sophomore Antonio Sanchez (Coralville, Iowa) each had shot attempts in the first overtime period that sailed over the goal.
 
"A very complete performance today and I'm happy with the performance but disappointed we couldn't find a way to win the game," said Drake head coach Gareth Smith. "We were relentless and intelligent on both sides of the ball which allowed us to dominate the game for large portions. We created twice as many chances and the only missing element was our finishing touch. It is a solid point to conference play and gives us a good platform to prepare for our game against Creighton."
 
Following Saturday's game, Drake has a fast turnaround as it travels to Omaha, Neb. to play former MVC rival Creighton on Tuesday, Oct. 10. First kick with the Bluejays is set for 7 p.m. at Morrison Stadium.