The Basics
The Drake University men's soccer team will begin the 2022 season with five road matches including the season opener at Kansas City at Durwood Soccer Stadium on Thursday, Aug. 25 for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff under the lights. Western Illinois welcomes the Bulldogs to John MacKenzie Alumni Field in Macomb, Ill., at 5 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 29.
 
New Faces
Drake men's soccer returns 14 players from a year ago while adding a host of newcomers. Juan Lopez Arteaga, Sam, Hill, Damian Segura, Eskil Gjerde, Timmy Browning, Valdemar Nambo, Ryder Barrett, Noah Corrigan and Zac Monnett are all incoming freshmen.
 
Jonathan Burke (Eastern Illinois), Brennan Rzewuski (Eastern Illinois), Nico Cortes (Fort Hays State), Sam Thornton (Marquette), AJ Franklin (Marquette), J.P. Pascarella (Virginia Tech) and Eloge Iradukundu (Sacramento State) all join the Bulldogs as transfers.
 
Top Returners
Senior midfielder Louis Yuill led Drake in assists (five) a season ago to pace the Bulldog returners with seven points. Forward Bradan Allen is a graduate student who knocked in a pair of goals and an added an assist during the 2021 campaign. Graduate student defender and Dublin, Ireland native Declan Watters converted a goal and contributed two assists for Drake last year.
 
Pat Flinn Era Begins
Pat Flinn, a coach who has been part of championship soccer programs throughout his life, was named head men's soccer coach at Drake University on Jan. 5, 2022.
 
Flinn recently completed his third year as head coach at the University of Chicago. In 2021, he guided the Maroons to a 16-6-1 record and the season culminated in the program's fourth-ever appearance in the NCAA Division III national semifinals. Through two seasons as head coach at UChicago (the Maroons did not compete in 2020 due to COVID-19), Flinn's teams recorded a 28-8-6 record, including an 11-3 mark in University Athletic Association (UAA) play, and twice qualified for the NCAA Tournament.
 
Prior to UChicago, Flinn was an assistant coach and the recruiting coordinator for Loyola Chicago, spending the 2017 and 2018 seasons with the Ramblers. The 2018 Loyola team reached the Missouri Valley Conference championship match for the first time in school history. During his time at Loyola, he had three recruits earn MVC all-conference honors, produced the 2018 MVC goalkeeper of the year, and in both 2017 and 2018 the Ramblers produced their first-ever Major League Soccer Draft picks. The student-athletes Flinn recruited helped lead Loyola to the 2019 MVC Championship and NCAA Tournament.
 
Scouting Kansas City
The Roos finished the 2021 campaign with a 3-7-5 overall mark. Kansas City is led by the Japan duo of senior forward Kazuki Kimura (two goals, one assist in 2021) and junior defender Kotaro Hirokawa (two assists, one goal in 2021).
 
Senior goalkeeper Cooper Clark has been named the Summit League 'Goalkeeper of the Year' in back-to-back seasons. Clark saved 71 shots last season and held a .747 save percentage.
 
Ryan Pore enters his third season in charge of the Kansas City men's soccer program with a 8-15-6 overall record. Pore played seven seasons of professional soccer including a four year stint with Sporting Kansas City of the MLS from 2005-08.  
 
Series History vs. Kansas City
Drake has won 10 consecutive matches against Kansas City dating back to Sept. 15, 2015. All-time, the Bulldogs lead the head-to-head series, 16-5-2 including a 1-0 victory over the Roos back on Sept. 15, 2019.
 
Scouting Western Illinois
The Leathernecks compiled a 2-13-1 record during the 2021 season. Graduate student forward Arian Mehrang returns after scoring two goals last season while senior defender Kyle Owen anchors the backline and provided a pair of assists a year ago. In net, junior goalkeeper Alex Flowers racked up 65 saves last season.
 
Dr. Eric Johnson enters his 25^th season at the helm of Western Illinois men's soccer. Johnson is the winningest coach in Summit League men's soccer history with a 183-244 overall record while coaching the Leathernecks.
 
Series History vs. Western Illinois
Drake leads the all-time series against WIU, 15-7-2 including four straight victories dating back to Sept. 20, 2017. The Bulldogs edged Western Illinois last season by a score of 1-0 in Des Moines on Aug. 30, 2021.