DES MOINES, Iowa – It was a tale of two halves as the Drake women's soccer team came out in the second half with offensive intensity. The Bulldogs and Missouri State ended play in a 1-1 draw in Drake's Missouri Valley Conference home opener on Thursday night (Sept. 22). The tie snapped a three-game losing streak to the Bears. Drake is now 1-5-4 on the season while Missouri State's record goes to 4-4-3. 
 
"Missouri State was a good side that had the majority of the chances in the first half," head coach Lindsey Horner said. "I felt like it was all us in the second half."
 
The first half was about as physical as expected. The Missouri State and Drake defenses were stout and contained offensive threats early. It took seven minutes for the action to increase as Missouri State's Hailey Chambliss missed the goal wide left. The Bulldog defense stepped up led by the current MVC save leader Vianey Lopez. She stopped back-to-back shots by MSU's offensive leader Grace O'Keefe in the 11th minute and the 13th minute respectively. Not long after in the 14th minute, O'Keefe exited the game due to injury. 
 
Drake's first shot on goal came in the 22nd minute when redshirt freshman midfielder Madelyn Smith missed the back of the net wide left. The Bulldog offense struggled against one of the more physical defenses in the Valley. Drake had two shots while the Bears controlled the match with eight by halftime.
 
Missouri State is built off of physical defense and precision passes. This was displayed in the first half as the Bears passed with a purpose. Carly Raunig found an open forward Joey Fosnow, who scored the game's first goal in the 24th minute. At the half, Drake trailed 1-0. 
 
"We had the ball a lot in the first half but struggled to break lines," Horner said. "We were pleased with the adjustments we made and how our backs played in the second half."
 
Coming out of halftime down one goal, the Drake offense was in control. It took only five minutes for the Bulldogs to get on the board after an extraordinary goal by freshman forward Layla Kelbel knotted the score. Assisted by junior forward Emma Nagel, Kelbel was near the far corner of the 18-yard box when she nailed a cross that dipped into the right side of the net. 
 
Drake flipped the script with its offense controlling the pace of play by keeping the Bear offense away from their side of the field. The defense held Missouri State silent until the Bears recorded their first shot of the second half in the 54th minute. 
 
Missouri State's shots were cut in half in the final 45 minutes but did not go down quietly. The Bulldogs deflected back-to-back Bear attacks in the 56th and 57th minute followed by another duo of shots in the 68th and 69th minute. The first of which Gracie English hit the right post, inches away from her third goal of the season. 
 
The final 20 minutes showed more resemblance to the first half with both sides battling back and forth. Offenses had trouble passing through the hustling defenses. 
 
"We didn't test their goalkeeper with the chances we did get," Horner said. "That's probably the difference between a win and tie tonight. The energy and desire to finish strong was superb."

The Bulldogs head back out on the road to face Valparaiso on Sunday, Sept. 25 at 1 p.m.
 
NOTES

• Layla Kelbel recorded her second career goal in the 50th minute and led the team with four total shots. She was assisted by Drake's leading scorer Emma Nagel with her first assist of the season.
• Senior midfielder Rachel Panther increased her team-leading shot total to 15. 
• The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 12-7-4.  
• Tonight marked Drake's fourth tie in its last five games.