The Drake University women's soccer team fell to Valparaiso, 1-0, Wednesday evening at Drake Stadium.
The Bulldogs (6-5-4) maintained possession most of the match, but were unable to get past the Beacons (9-4-1) defensive line. The Beacons out-shot the Bulldogs 16-10.
"This is a hard result to deal with because I thought we played really well tonight and deserved at least a tie from it. Our backline was superb tonight, and after two early, scary moments, we did a fantastic job of adjusting and defending their front three and their attacking mid," said head coach
Lindsey Horner. "This was a very disciplined performance from our team, and if we continue with this energy and fight, I think we will get something from the next two weekends."
It wasn't until the 33rd minute that the Bulldogs registered a shot. Senior
Libby Helverson created a scoring opportunity, but her shot went wide giving the Beacons a goal kick.
Helverson ended the match with two shots and one on goal. Fellow senior
Alison Walls led the Bulldogs with three shots and one on goal.
Both teams went into halftime scoreless. Fifth year keeper
Kelsie Stone recorded eight saves in the match, five in the first half alone.
In the 72nd minute, Kelsie James took a corner kick for the Beacons that landed in the left side of the net, getting past a cluster of Bulldogs. James put Valpo up 1-0 and leads the Beacons with seven goals this season.
The Bulldogs attempted to retaliate but were unsuccessful. Junior
Chloe Jones attempted to score in the 85th minute, but was stopped by Valpo's keeper.
Horner said, "This felt like a game where neither team was going to concede in the run of play, and they made good on a restart chance. I liked our response to going down a goal as well when we started pressing and creating more turnovers, but we didn't get that great moment to find the equalizer. Lots to be proud of in terms of energy, effort, and performance, but Sunday will come quick and we didn't go deep into our bench tonight, so we need to regroup quickly to get points."
The Bulldogs hit the road to take on Illinois State on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Normal, Ill.
