DEKALB, Ill. – The Drake men's soccer team won its final road match of the regular season on Friday night. The Bulldogs needed all three of their goals to outlast the MVC cellar-dwelling Northern Illinois Huskies 3-2. Drake escaped DeKalb with their third consecutive win to remain unbeaten in conference play.
 
The Huskies got the scoring started in the 13th minute when Jose Gomez was assisted by Grant Paskus. Gomez' third goal of the season gave NIU some early energy as they were chasing their second win in a row.
 
The NIU lead did not last long, though, as the Bulldogs evened the tally just a few minutes later. Barrett Kitts lofted a cross into the box where it was tracked down by Eloge Iradukunda. The junior forward used his head to knock the ball by the NIU keeper for his second goal of the year.


 
The game remained tied until the last few moments of the first half when the Bulldogs drew a Husky penalty. Kai Knuchel stepped up to the stripe in the 40th stanza and buried a slick P.K. to put the Bulldogs on top, 2-1. That margin held until the break.

 

The 2-1 score was maintained for a good portion of the second half as Drake held on to a narrow lead. The Bulldogs eventually extended their advantage in the 74th minute when Waukee Northwest graduate Cole Schrage came through. A defensive cornerstone for Drake, Schrage found his way into the attacking half and high-pointed a J.P. Pascarella dish to head one in for his first goal of the season.


 
Schrage's score made it 3-1 in favor of Drake, but the scoring did not stop there. Martin Montoya of NIU netted his second goal of the year in the 83rd minute to get one step closer, but the clock was not on the Huskies' side. Time expired on the match with the score sitting at 3-2 as the Bulldogs earned another pivotal MVC win.
 
The Bulldogs outshot NIU 10-5 overall and 8-3 on goal. The visiting Dogs also doubled up the Huskies in corner kicks, 8-4.
 
Bulldog keeper Tomas Butkovic made one save in the win.
 
"[It was] different than the way we've won this year after conceding early and then letting them back in with their late goal, but a win is a win, and a road win is a road win," Drake head coach Pat Flinn said. "We took zero points on the road in conference last year and capped our road MVC schedule with 10 points tonight. I'm proud of the guys for finding a way to win. Now we get to host a great team on Wednesday with everything on the line. Go Dogs."
 
Drake will close their 2024 regular season slate next Wednesday (Nov. 6) as they host current league-leader Missouri State. The Bears currently sit two points ahead of Drake, so a Bulldog win would catapult them to the regular season title.