DES MOINES, Iowa – Erik Fahner and Leroy Enzugusi scored for the Drake University men's soccer team in a 2-1 win over Loyola Thursday at Drake Stadium.
 
Drake (2-1-1 MVC) wasted little time scoring as Fahner fired a rocket off a cleared corner kick by the Ramblers. Fahner's first goal of the year found the bottom right corner past the diving Loyola (3-1-2; 2-1-1 MVC) goalkeeper Simon Jilson just three minutes into the match.

"We showed unbelievable effort, commitment, and organization from everyone today, in all phases of the game, and showed the depth in quality we have within our roster. This was an excellent collective effort," said head coach Gareth Smith. "I was pleased with the way we started the game. We had a great mentality and pressed with real intensity higher up the field as we wanted to push the temp of the game and stop Loyola settling into a rhythm. It was clear our guys were up for the battle, on every level, yet again today."

Jaden Stevenson nearly added another goal in the 42^nd minute as his header was narrowly cleared by Jilson.
 
Bulldogs goalkeeper Jared Brown made a nice save off an early Loyola free kick in the first half and later Loyola's Michael Hong's shot hit the woodwork.
 
Brown came up clutch again just minutes into the second half as he made a sliding clear-out save on Billy Hency's shot. Later, Brown made another key save on Cisneros' shot in the 68^th minute. Brown made four saves in the win.
 
The teams traded goals in a frantic final two minutes. First Cory Pitlik sent a through ball deep into Loyola's territory, and Enzgusi tracked it down and his shot found the back of the net. Julian Cisneros scored off a scramble just 23 seconds later for Loyola.

Smith said, "We knew the second half would present a different challenge with playing against the wind, but I thought we managed the game and moments very well overall. We knew that with our 1-0 lead Loyola would have to open up more in order to get back into the game. We knew space would open up between their lines and back line, so we just had to be patient to pick the right moment to counter and exploit these opportunities and that's what we did. It was a great final pass from Cory Pitlik and very good movement, awareness, and finishing from Leroy to extend our lead to 2-0 which, in the end, was crucial to get the 3 points."

Drake earned its first victory over Loyola in the past 11 matches (1-5-5) in the series.

Drake travels to Missouri State Monday, March 22 for a 3:30 p.m. matinee.