EVANSTON, Ill. – Drake men's soccer suffered a 2-1 loss in their first of two-straight games in the Chicagoland area on Friday evening. The Bulldogs carried a one-goal lead over 12th-ranked Northwestern into halftime but could not stave off a charging Wildcat bunch down the stretch.
 
The Bulldogs (1-2-0) were up for the challenge on Friday and proved that in the first half. Northwestern (3-0-0) attempted just two shots to Drake's four over the first 45 minutes of play. Drake's solid play was rewarded after a replay review granted Damian Segura a chance at the penalty line. The Suwanee, Ga. native stepped up and nailed one past the Northwestern keeper to put Drake up, 1-0, in the 21st minute.


 
Drake's lead held into the halftime hiatus.
 
Segura and the Bulldogs continued their controlled play after the break. The two teams traded momentum over most of the second half until Northwestern finally broke through. Collin McCamy (78') scored an unassisted goal to knot the tally. Just a few minutes later, Tyler Glassberg (84') added to the Wildcats' comeback effort with the go-ahead score after Bryant Mayer and Italo Addimandi assists.
 
Despite their gritty performance, Drake came up just a few moments short and narrowly missed out on a remarkable upset. Northwestern took the win, 2-1.

"I'm gutted for the team," Bulldog head coach Pat Flinn said after the match. "We carried the game on the road at a top 15 team. We deserved the lead we held...the guys deserved a result."
 
The Bulldogs will finish their Chicago swing on Monday with an afternoon match at DePaul.