The Drake women's soccer team upset No. 15 Memphis, 2-0, Saturday afternoon in a thrilling match-up that handed Memphis its first loss of the season. The Tigers are the highest ranked foe the Bulldogs have defeated in program history.  
 
The Tigers (6-1-1) came into a match on a five-game winning streak and had only surrendered two goals this entire season.
 
Memphis maintained possession for over half the match but were unable to find the net behind Drake (4-3-1) keeper Kelsie Stone and get past the Bulldogs' defensive line.  
 
Stone recorded 10 saves in her 90 minutes in goal after facing 29 shots.  
 
"That was a very good Memphis team we beat today," said Drake head coach Lindsey Horner. "Soccer can be a maddening rollercoaster in terms of results and performances, but I do think we took Thursday's result on the chin, learned from our errors and regrouped quickly. I'm so pleased with our team's level of focus and intensity. Today we didn't have much possession, but we didn't waste our chances and we were so tough defensively." 
 
Memphis outshot Drake 29-4 and earned 11 corner kicks. 
 
In the 13th minute, junior Delaney Goertzen took a free kick awarded to the Bulldogs and punted it into the box. The ball landed in front of freshman Makenna Shepard who stepped past the keeper to score and give Drake the early lead, 1-0.  
 
Shepard's goal was the first of her collegiate career. She ended the match with two points, one goal and one shot on goal.  
 
The Tigers retaliated by continuing t0 pepper the Drake defense, but Stone continued to be nearly flawless in goal. 
 
"Kelsie was incredibly brave today and made some big time saves," Horner said. "Our players worked extremely hard for each other today and that's what makes this result fun." 
 
Saorla Miller recorded 10 shots for the Tigers with six shots in the second half alone. She added three shots on goal for Memphis, none of which were successful. A total of 11 players recorded a shot for the Tigers.  
 
Senior Libby Helverson scored in the 60th minute off a pass from sophomore Emma Nagel to secure the win for the Bulldogs. This was the third match in a row for Helverson to score a goal and record two points. She ended with one goal, one shot, two points and is fourth in the MVC with most points this season. 
 
"Libby is putting herself in great areas and finding the corners. I'm so pleased to see her composure in goal scoring moments paying off for her," said Horner. 
 
Memphis was forced to play the final 12 minutes of the match with only 10 players after Tanya Boychuk received her second yellow card and was forced to leave the match. Boychuk recorded a yellow card in the 51st minute before receiving another yellow that led to a red in the 79th minute to receive the sendoff.
 
"The true test will be this weekend and our ability to sustain this energy when we aren't the clear underdog," said Horner. 
 
The Bulldogs remain in Des Moines to take on Kansas City Friday Sept. 17 with kickoff slated for 1 p.m.