The Basics
The Drake women's soccer team is set to begin postseason play in the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament being held in Springfield, Mo. The No. 2 seed Bulldogs will take on the No. 3 seed UIC Flames on Thursday, Nov. 7 at 3 p.m. The other semifinal is between No. 1 Missouri State and No. 4 Belmont with the winners advancing to the MVC Tournament Championship on Sunday, Nov. 10.
Drake Women's Soccer in the MVC Tournament
Drake women's soccer owns a 11-18-3 all-time record in the MVC Tournament and last won the conference tournament crown in 2006 (its only MVC Tournament title). In 2006, Drake defeated Missouri State, 1-0 before beating Evansville, 1-0 in the title match on Nov. 5, 2006 for an appearance in the NCAA Tournament (2-0 loss to Saint Louis). The Bulldogs made an appearance in the MVC Championship last season, but fell to Valparaiso, 1-0.
Bulldogs by the Numbers
Drake ended its regular season on a six-match unbeaten streak going 4-0-2 down the stretch to earn the No. 2 seed in the MVC Tournament. The Bulldogs allowed just four goals to opponents in that stretch and pitched a pair of shutouts against Belmont and UIC. Six players from Drake's squad received postseason accolades with
Layla Kelbel,
Zoey Mahoney, and
Madelyn Smith tabbed All-MVC First Team.
Eve Blakey was named All-MVC Second Team,
Angela Gutierrez was placed on the All-MVC Third Team, and
Izzy Snowden garnered a spot on the All-MVC Freshman Team.
Drake Leaders
Eve Blakey l 15 PTS – 6 G – 3 A - 32 SH – 19 SOG
Layla Kelbel l 13 PTS – 5 G – 3 A – 32 SH – 18 SOG
Angela Gutierrez l 9 PTS – 4 G – A – 35 SH – 17 SOG
Addie Ford l 3-6-5 W/L – 44 SV – 22 GA - .667 SV%
Scouting UIC
The Flames earned a bye into the quarterfinals as the No. 3 seed and defeated No. 7 Illinois State, 4-2 this past Sunday. UIC tallied a conference record of 6-2-2 during the regular season and went 8-9-2 overall. The only two losses UIC suffered in conference play were to Drake and Missouri State, the top two seeds in the MVC Tournament.
As mentioned, the Bulldogs and the Flames played once already this season on Oct. 17 with Drake winning, 2-0. In the all-time series, Drake has the lead 4-2 and has won the previous two matchups.
UIC Leaders
Riley Collett l 11 PTS – 4 G – 3 A - 28 SH – 15 SOG
Hannah Gryzik l 6 PTS – 2 G – 2 A - 22 SH – 12 SOG
Makenna Maloy l 2 PTS – 2 G – A - 11 SH – 6 SOG
Francesca Faraci l 6-3-2 W/L – 41 SV – 10 GA - .804 SV%
Scouting Missouri State
Missouri State earned the No. 1 seed in the tournament after finishing the conference slate with an unbeaten record of 9-0-1. Overall, the Bears went 11-4-3 on the season and are riding a seven-game win streak. Missouri State's lone draw in conference play came against Evansville and its lost loss happened on the road at Oral Roberts on Sep. 12.
Drake lost to Missouri State 3-1 in the conference opener earlier in the season when the two squads matched up in Des Moines. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series against the Bears with a mark of 12-8-5. However, Missouri State has won four of the previous six contests against Drake with the other two outcomes being draws.
Missouri State Leaders
Julia Kristensen l 23 PTS – 6 G – 11 A - 33 SH – 17 SOG
Grace O'Keefe l 15 PTS – 5 G – 5 A - 39 SH – 28 SOG
Kaeli Benedict l 13 PTS – 4 G – 5 A – 28 SH – 14 SOG
Camielle Day l 10-4-3 W/L – 56 SV – 18 GA - .757 SV%
Scouting Belmont
Belmont defeated the No. 5 seed, Indiana State, in its quarterfinal match on Nov. 3 by a score of 1-0 to reach the semis. Overall, the Bruins compiled a record of 9-9-2 and went 5-4-1 in conference action.
Drake beat Belmont during the regular season in a low-scoring affair, 1-0. The Bulldogs have also never lost to the Bruins in their limited series history winning all three contests. Drake has outscored Belmont 5-2 in those three contests.
Belmont Leaders
Ava Labocki l 13 PTS – 6 G – A - 17 SH – 11 SOG
Reagan Ross l 11 PTS – 5 G – A - 23 SH – 14 SOG
Kaitlyn Elliott l 7 PTS – 3 G – A – 13 SH – 5 SOG
Sydney Jones l 8-9-2 W/L – 85 SV – 19 GA - .817 SV%
