The Drake men's soccer team bested Western Illinois in its home opener, 1-0, Monday afternoon at Cownie Soccer Complex. 

The Leathernecks were able to register three shots early in the match, but were unable to get past Drake goalkeeper Jared Brown. Brown recorded four saves and faced 14 shots in his 90 minutes on the pitch.  

"It was good to keep a clean sheet and get hard earned win on our home opener against a hard working and well organized western Illinois. The heat made it tougher to maintain a tempo and intensity, that we want, but our guys managed it well," said head coach Gareth Smith.

In the 19th minute of play, senior Istvan Wilhelms passed to Juan Louis at the top of the box who found the net with a right foot goal. Louis' goal was his second this season and he currently leads the Bulldogs with two goals this season. He also registered two shots in his time on the pitch. 

Smith said, "From an attacking perspective we showed good moments and scored a very good. Delighted to see Juan get on the scoresheet with a great run in behind and composed finish. We need to be more patient in our decision making and use of possession when building our attack. At times we played forward too quickly when it wasn't on and just need to be a little more composed when building through the lines. "

Senior Erik Fahner and sophomore Cory Pitlik each registered one shot in the match. Freshman Braeden Beard was the only Bulldog besides Louis to register a shot on goal with a late header that nearly found the goal.  

The Bulldogs were out-shot by the Leathernecks 14-6 in the match and earned three corners compared to Western Illinois' nine.
  
The Bulldogs' defense was led by Brown, senior TC Anderson, junior Louis Yuill, and senior Declan Watters.  

"Defensively we were well organized and limited their ability counter attack, which was a point of focus given their system and strategy. Our backline stood up to the test and led by impressive performances from Jared, TC, and Declan," said Smith.

Drake returns to Cownie Soccer Complex Friday Sept. 3 to take on Omaha. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m.