DES MOINES, Iowa – Sophomore Hannah Bormann (Amana, Iowa) scored her first goal of the season in the 83^rd minute (8:44) for the Drake University women's soccer team in a 2-1 win over Western Illinois Sunday afternoon, Sept. 16 in hot and humid conditions at the Cownie Soccer Complex.
 
Drake (3-6-0), earned its first home win of 2018, courtesy of Bormann, who missed the first four games of the year due to injury. After Western Illinois (2-5-1) evened the score at 1-1 in the 76^th minute, Bormann played a dangerous cross from Vanessa Kavan (Lincoln, Neb.) and buried it near post to put Drake back in front.
 
The Leathernecks pushed for the equalizer for the second time on the day, but the Bulldogs' defense held firm as they snapped a two-match losing streak.
 
Tawny Carroll (Streamwood, Ill.) scored the match's first goal right out of halftime. Linda Fiorito (Overland Park, Kan.) sent a beautiful cross from the near side into the box that bounced once and Carroll pounced on it, blasting it in for her first goal of the season.
 
Western Illinois' goal came after Emily Bollman got past the Bulldogs' backline and fired a shot at goalkeeper Kelsie Stone (Hoffman Estates, Ill.). Stone made a great diving save on Bollman's shot, but couldn't corral the ball as Amy Andrews streaked in and sent the loose ball into the back of the net.
 
It was an even battle between the two teams with nearly identical statistics in the opening period. Drake had four shots on goal while Western Illinois had three. Allison Walls (Kansas City, Mo.) led the Bulldogs' attack with two shots on goal just minutes apart, including one that required a jumping punch save by the Leathernecks' goalkeeper.
 
Drake finished with 17 shots to just five by Western Illinois, including a 10-5 advantage in shots on goal. Stone tallied four saves. Horner used 21 different players on Sunday afternoon with the tough playing conditions as several Bulldogs played their first significant minutes.
 
"We knew we were going to have to use more players in today's game with the heat, and felt players like Tawny Carroll, Ali Burke, and Megan Valenzuela gave us really good minutes," said head coach Lindsey Horner. "We were in control for long stretches of the game, but didn't convert our early chances. Different than Thursday night, we put in very good crosses and had organized runs in the box. Linda and Vanessa have the ability to get more assists this season with the amount of times they get on the ball in wide areas. Both assists came from service delivered behind WIU's backline, which is so difficult to defend. Conversely, we left ourselves exposed by under-hitting a ball into the box and getting countered. We were pleased with our team's response to their equalizer.  We aren't yet a finished product, but we keep getting better.  We are at a spot where we need to be eager to earn the next shutout and gain confidence from our crossing and finishing today. We get one more prep game at UNO before we start MVC play, so we will look to build momentum going into Sunday's game at Valparaiso."
 
Following Sunday's game, Drake closes its non-conference slate at Omaha Wednesday evening. First kick with the Mavericks in Omaha, Neb. is scheduled for 6 p.m. The Bulldogs open league play at Valparaiso on Sept. 22.