DES MOINES, Iowa. – Drake men's soccer (2-6-2, 1-2-1) returned to Des Moines this evening for their first of two-straight home matches. The Bulldogs battle Missouri Valley Conference newcomer Northern Illinois (3-6-1, 0-2-1) to a 1-1 draw.

Drake's leading scorer AJ Franklin got the Bulldogs on the board early with penalty kick goal in the 15th minute after NIU's Jakub Drazek commited a foul in the box. Franklin's goal was his fifth of the season and second in as many matches.

The Bulldogs carried their 1-0 lead into the halftime break.

Northern Illinois came out of the break with increased energy but could not initially convert on their opportunities. The Bulldogs also possessed the ball deep within NIU territory but could not extend their lead.

Eventually, the Huskies drew even in the 87th minute when Kai Knuchel was flagged for a foul in the same penalty box which led to an Angel Rodriguez PK score, his second of the season.
The final three minutes ticked away without any more damage as both teams earned a point with the 1-1 draw.

Drake outshot the Huskies 10-7 but trailed NIU 3-2 in shots on goal. The Bulldogs also attempted more corner kicks by a 10-6 margin.

Franklin fired off five total shots with just one, his goal, on target. Eskil Gjerde was also active with three shots while Damian Segura attempted one that found the keeper's mitts.
In goal, Quinn Millerd snagged two saves in his second start of the season.

"We were desperately looking for a performance we can build on and we got that." Drake head coach Pat Flinn said after the match. "I appreciate every one of our players' efforts this week to prepare for this game. It paid off with a real performance, our most complete of the year. We're all gutted by the result because we deserved more than a draw in that game."

The Bulldogs will complete their two-game homestand next week with a non-conference bout. Drake is set to host St. Thomas on Tuesday, Oct. 10 in Des Moines.