DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University men's soccer dropped its home opener to Western Michigan, 2-1, on Sunday afternoon at the Cownie Soccer Complex.
 
Western Michigan (5-0-1) built a 2-0 lead behind goals by Ben Thornton in the 13^th minute (13:00) and Brandon Bye's in the 60^th minute (60:33).
 
Drake (0-5-0) cut the deficit in half in the 77rd minute (77:03) when senior Mason Leonard (Overland Park, Kan.) converted a penalty kick. The Bulldogs were awarded the penalty kick after freshman Leroy Enzugusi (Marion, Iowa) was taken down by a Broncos defender with a hard tackle sprinting after a ball deep in the WMU box.
 
"I thought we deserved more from the game today, which makes the result tough to accept," said head coach Gareth Smith. "We are on a tough run of games and even though we are playing top teams in the country I believe our young group is capable of taking more from the games."
 
Drake, which finished with eight shots and two shots on goal in the match, was unable to get off a shot after the PK by Leonard. Leonard, who now has three career goals, led the Bulldogs with two shots on goal.
 
"I was happy with our application and commitment to compete throughout the game," Smith said. "However, we need to execute better in key moments of the game. The guys are learning some tough lesson because when you play high-level teams you get punished on the small details. It was disappointing to concede goals on two restarts as these are areas we have focused on. It all boils down to individual errors and so we need to help a few guys tighten up at an individual level. We have a quick turnaround as we head up to Green Bay for our last road trip prior to Missouri Valley Conference play next weekend."
 
Drake will play at Green Bay on Wednesday night with first kick at 6 p.m. The Bulldogs will then host MVC newcomer Valparaiso on Saturday, Sept. 16 at 7 p.m.