The Basics
The Drake University men's soccer team continues its tour of the Summit League with a road match against Oral Roberts at 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 2 before heading to Omaha on Tuesday, Sept. 6 for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
Welcome Aboard
The goal in the 16
th minute by
AJ Franklin at Kansas City on Aug. 25 was his first as a Drake Bulldog after transferring from Marquette, where he scored a goal in his last game as a Golden Eagle on Oct. 30, 2021 against Georgetown. The shutout is the 12
th clean sheet in
Jonathan Burke's career and his first as a Drake Bulldog after transferring from Eastern Illinois.
Flinn Era Starts with a Win
The win was
Pat Flinn's first victory as the head coach of Drake men's soccer. His overall head coaching record (including the previous two seasons at the University of Chicago) is 29-8-6. The victory marks the first season opening win for Drake men's soccer since Aug. 28, 2015, against Pacific.
In the Dark
The match at Western Illinois on Monday (Aug. 29) was stopped in the 59th minute due to darkness. The start of the match was delayed over an hour due to weather. John MacKenzie Alumni Field in Macomb, Ill., does not have lights. The match will be considered a 'no contest' as the minimum requirement of 70 minutes was not reached and the game will not be resumed.
Scouting Oral Roberts
The Golden Eagles had an impressive 11-2-2 campaign last season and are off to an 0-1-1 start in 2022. ORU played UTRGV to a 1-1 draw on Saturday, Aug. 27 with its lone goal occurring in the 43
rd minute by Carlos Santamaria. Goalkeeper Jeremy Coste made five saves.
Ryan Bush is in 10
th season as the head coach of the Oral Roberts men's soccer program and he carries a 69-62-20 record into Friday's match.
Series History vs. Oral Roberts
All-time, the Bulldogs lead the head-to-head series, 6-3-1, but has lost the last two matchups with the Golden Eagles including the latest 4-1 setback on Aug. 30, 2019.
Scouting Omaha
The Mavericks compiled a 6-10-1 record during the 2021 season and split their first two games of 2022. Omaha lost its season opener to Rutgers on Aug. 25 before rebounding with a 3-1 win over Oakland on Aug. 28. Sophomore forward Kenji Mboma Dem scored a pair of goals in the win over Oakland Sophomore defender Gonzalo Cuevas provided both assists in the game versus Rutgers.
Donovan Dowling enters his first season as a head coach taking over the reins from Bob Warming.
Series History vs. Omaha
The series is even 2-2-1 after the Bulldogs edged the Mavericks by a score of 2-1 in Des Moines last season.
