CARBONDALE, Ill. – The Drake women's soccer team hit the road for its final away match of the 2024 regular season as it took on Southern Illinois Thursday night. The Bulldogs earned another crucial victory for MVC Tournament seeding and defeated the Salukis, 2-1.
It didn't take long for the scoring to start in the match with the first goal, coming by way of the Bulldogs, being scored in the eighth minute of play. Freshman defender
Izzy Snowden netted her second goal of the season to put Drake in front early on.
Zoey Mahoney was credited with the assist, a team-leading sixth, on the score.
The Bulldogs struck again a little later in the 20th minute. This time around it was a solo effort from
Angela Gutierrez as she finished her effort into the lower right portion of the goal to give Drake a 2-0 advantage.
Southern Illinois found a response in the 30th minute, however, to cut into Drake's lead. McKensey Bunch sent home an attempt coming off an assist from Guliana Balistreri making it a 2-1 contest. That score remained when the halftime horn sounded.
The defensive intensity picked up in the second half as both sides were limited to four shots each over the final 45 minutes. Neither Drake nor Southern Illinois found the back of the net and the 2-1 score held, giving the Bulldogs their fourth consecutive win.
"This was an incredibly intense game," Drake head coach
Lindsey Horner said. "[Southern Illinois] pressed us hard and they countered fast with numbers. Our defense has been so steady as of late, and we were certainly tested tonight. I loved our resilience as a team. We grew in every big tackle and were up for the battle, but still found ways to create great chances going forward. We are excited to close out our regular season at home on Sunday and continue to be in control of our seeding."
The Bulldogs and Salukis matched each other in shot attempts at 11-11, but Drake edged SIU in shots on goal, 6-5.
Kate Hopma logged just under 66 minutes in goal for Drake and made three saves, while
Addie Ford tallied just under 25 minutes, and one save.
Drake will close out the 2024 regular season campaign back in Des Moines as it hosts Murray State on Oct. 27.
