WEST DES MOINES, Iowa – Goals by Olivia Bruce and Delaney Goertzen lifted the Drake University women's soccer team to a 2-0 victory over in-state rival Northern Iowa on Wednesday night at Tiger Field.
 
Bruce scored her second goal of the season by tucking a shot into the lower-right corner in the 40^th minute before Goertzen notched her first-career goal via a set piece in the 65^th minute.
 
Goalkeeper Kelsie Stone was credited with four saves between the posts en route to collecting her third shutout of the season.
 
"It was great for us to get two goals and a clean sheet," said Drake head coach Lindsey Horner. "Our players deserve to feel good about their performance. Our center midfielders were sharp, our target play was quite clean, and our players stuck to the game plan."
 
The Bulldogs controlled the run of play throughout the night, owning 62 percent of the possession. Their monopoly on the ball paid off with Bruce's goal late in the first half.
 
Goertzen carried the counter-attack into a dangerous area before threading the needle into the box and onto the feet of Bruce, who had slithered into the cracks of UNI's back line. Bruce weighted her touch just right and jostled with a UNI defender before curling home the tenth goal of her career. Of Drake's eight goal-scorers in 2019, Bruce leads with two scores.
 
The score gave the Bulldogs momentum and a 1-0 lead into the halftime break, and they picked up where they left off to begin the final 45 minutes.
 
Drake unleashed a relentless attack, earning five corner kicks in the opening seven minutes of the half. The Bulldogs maintained their ball-hogging ways, and the pressure culminated in Goertzen's goal.
 
After Drake earned another corner kick, Hannah Bormann played it short to Kavan, who curved in a left-footed cross toward the 6-yard box. Alison Walls did well to get a touch in traffic, redirecting the ball to Goertzen, who came charging forward to power home the first goal of her career. Walls earned her first assist of the season while Kavan collected her team-leading third assist.
 
Drake (5-8-1, 2-2-0 MVC) has won consecutive games for the first time this year. The Bulldogs will look for their third-straight win against Indiana State on Sunday at Cownie Soccer Complex. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
 
"We look forward to building on tonight, cleaning up some minor details, and getting some rest before a quick turnaround against Indiana State," Horner said.