INDIANOLA, Iowa – The Drake University men's soccer team had its four-game winning streak snapped on Sunday when it lost in double overtime to Loyola, 2-1, at Bill Buxton Stadium.
"This was a hard-fought battle against a competitive Loyola team," said Drake head coach
Gareth Smith. "It's a difficult result to accept as we had a very solid performance and should have gotten something out of the game."
The Ramblers took the lead in the 25
th minute on a headed goal by Aidan Megally. The score ended Drake's shutout streak at 423:56, or just over seven hours of game time.
The Bulldogs headed home the equalizer in the 62
nd minute.
Oliver Bihuniak sent in a free kick from near midfield, delivering it far post to
Scott Misselhorn, who out-leapt his defender and leveled the game at one with a missile into the top-left corner.
Megally collected his second goal of the day with the game-winner in the 109
th minute. He gathered the ball after a mad scramble near the top of the 18-yard box before delivering a remarkable shot that snuck just beneath the crossbar.
"We were pushing to win the game and created two or three good chances in overtime, but just didn't tuck them away," Smith said.
Goalkeeper
Luke Anderson, the reigning MVC Defensive Player of the Week, recorded both of his saves in quick succession late in the second half. Anderson began the sequence by diving to his left, adjusting in mid-air to bat away the redirected shot. Quickly rising to his feet, Anderson was game for the rebound, swallowing it up and ending Loyola's chance.
Both teams were evenly matched and fought for every advantage. Drake and Loyola each recorded 13 shots and five shots on goal, and the teams combined to be whistled for 38 fouls and booked for six yellow cards.
Drake (5-4, 2-1 MVC) travels to Peoria on Oct. 5 for a rematch with conference foe Bradley. The Bulldogs beat the Braves, 2-0, when they met on Sept. 21.
"A few areas we need to revisit and tighten up on when defending in the defensive third, but all in all we need to build on this performance and turn our attention to Bradley next week," said Smith.
