DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake men's soccer team renewed their crosstown rivalry with the Grand View Vikings on Thursday evening as the nightcap of a double-header with the Bulldog women. Drake's men's squad used three second-half scores to sprint past the Vikings en route to their season-opening win.
 
Despite a stalemate on the scoreboard, Drake (1-0-0) controlled much of the first half, including nearly 75% of the time of possession. Drake outshot Grand View 9-2 over the first 45 minutes and took four corner kicks to GV's one.
 
The Bulldogs bounced out of the locker room into the second half and quickly put it all together. In the 54th minute, Eskil Gjerde drew a penalty, sending Damian Segura to the stripe. The Suwanee, Ga. native capitalized for the Bulldogs' first goal of the season.


 
Less than 10 minutes later, Evan Carlson and Jackson Kirsch combined for two more goals to extend Drake's advantage. Both goals came in the 64th minute; Carlson's was unassisted, and Kirsch benefitted from a Carlson and Eloge Iradukunda dishes.



 
Grand View (0-1-0) could not manage any sort of comeback as a well-insured Drake team rode out the rest of the time to earn their first victory of 2024.
 
Drake outshot Grand View 20-5 overall and 13-3 in shots on goal. Segura led the Bulldog attack with five attempts on target and six total shots. Both Erich Legut and Iradukunda fired off three shots. In goal, freshman Tomas Butkovic picked up the victory his first collegiate contest while making three saves.
 
Grand View's keeper Emiliano Laguna recorded 10 saves.
 
"Tonight was fun," Drake head coach Pat Flinn said after the game. "Perfect weather…great turnout. Credit to Grand View for giving us a real fight and credit to our guys for putting the game out of reach in the first 15 minutes of the second half. I though Evan Carlson and Eskil Gjerde were outstanding tonight. [We have] lots of work to do, but we are excited to get into the season."
 
Drake will hit the road this weekend for their first of three-straight matches away from home. The Bulldogs are set for a Sunday evening clash at Creighton in Omaha, Neb.