KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Drake men's soccer (1-3-0) overcame a lengthy halftime margin to challenge the Roos of Kansas City (1-2-1) in their first of two-straight road matches. The Bulldogs put together an impressive second half, but could not finish the rally, dropping a high-scoring 4-3 contest.
 
The Roos owned the scoreboard in the first half, drawing first blood just three minutes into the game with an Eliott Labeth goal. Later in the opening period, Julien Le Boudoulous added to Kansas City's lead with a score in the 16th minute. Hector Taboada provided the final blow in the first half, scoring his second goal of the season in the 39th minute.
 
Trailing 3-0 after the break, the Bulldogs came out firing. In the 56th minute, Preseason All-MVC selection AJ Franklin netted his first goal of the year after an Erich Legut assist. Moments later, Eloge Iradukunda was assisted by Deng Deng in the 57th minute to narrow the Kansas City advantage to 3-2.
 
Taboada halted Drake's comeback effort in the 65th minute with his second goal of the night to regain the Roos' two-goal advantage.
 
Drake was not done, however, as transfer Deng Deng collected a Damian Segura assist in the 88th minute. Deng scored for his first goal as a Bulldog to get back within one score, but Kansas City was able to secure the 4-3 victory.
 
"We never got off the bus and Kansas City was ready from the first whistle," Drake head coach Pat Flinn said. "I'm embarrassed by our first half, and I expect so much more out of our team. We will keep pushing ourselves to make sure we are ready for league play."
 
Next up, the Bulldogs will travel to Tulsa for their final road game of the non-conference season. Drake will square off against the Golden Hurricane on Saturday, Sep. 9 at 7 p.m.