The Basics
The Drake women's soccer team is back in Des Moines for a pair of matches including a Senior Day celebration and the beginning of Missouri Valley Conference action. The Bulldogs will first play host to Western Illinois (Sep. 15 – Senior Day) and then will welcome MVC foe Missouri State to town (Sep. 19).
Bulldogs by the Numbers
In their last two contests, the Bulldogs went 0-0-2 as they took on South Dakota State and Green Bay. On the road against the Jackrabbits, Drake earned its third draw of the season after a 1-1 finish. Freshman defender
Izzy Snowden was credited with her first-career assist on the lone Bulldogs goal in the match and earned Missouri Valley Conference Defender of the Week Honors for her defensive efforts. The Bulldogs also drew with Green Bay by a final score of 1-1 moving their overall record to 0-4-4 on the season.
Drake Leaders
Eve Blakey l 6 PTS – 2 G – 2 A - 6 SH – 4 SOG
Isabella Balsley l 4 PTS – 2 G – 3 SH – 3 SOG
Angela Gutierrez l 2 PTS – 2 G – 17 SH – 10 SOG
Addie Ford l 0-4-4 W/L – 30 SV – 15 GA - .667 SV%
Scouting Western Illinois
The Leathernecks come into the contest versus the Bulldogs still searching for their first win of the season after dropping their first five matches of 2024. Western Illinois has one more opportunity to find its first win of the season before it comes to Des Moines with a matchup at St. Thomas on Friday, September 13.
Drake leads the all-time series vs. Western Illinois with a record of 9-4-1 dating back to 2002. The Bulldogs are 4-0-1 in their last five against the Leathernecks and have not lost a home match to Western Illinois since 2013. In the most recent matchup, which occurred in 2021, Drake and WIU ended in a 0-0 draw.
Western Illinois Leaders
Callie McMurtrey l 2 PTS – G – 5 SH – 3 SOG
Rachel Balinao l 1 PTS –A – 1 SH – 1 SOG
Ariel Bernard l 0-3-0 W/L – 32 SV – 9 GA - .780 SV%
Scouting Missouri State
The Bulldogs will open up MVC play versus the Missouri State Bears who come into the contest with a record of 2-4-2. Missouri State closed out its non-conference slate with a pair of losses falling to Oklahoma and Oral Roberts. The two wins that the Bears tallied in their non-conference schedule came against Tulsa and Central Arkansas.
Coming into the season, Missouri State was picked to win the 2024 Missouri Valley Conference crown. The Bears earned seven of 11 first-place votes, finishing with 116 points, to edge Drake, which tallied 109 total points. Missouri State also had four players selected to the preseason All-Conference Team, which was the most out of any school.
Drake leads the all-time series against Missouri State with a record of 12-7-5. In the most recent matchup between the two sqauds, which came last season on October 5, the Bulldogs and Bears ended in a 0-0 draw. Looking back at the last five contests, Drake has gone 0-3-2 against Missouri State with the last win coming in 2018.
Missouri State Leaders
Julia Kristensen l 5 PTS – 2 G – A - 9 SH – 4 SOG – GW
Reilly Heman l 4 PTS – 2 G – 17 SH – 8 SOG
Kaeli Benedict l 3 PTS – 3 A – 7 SH – 3 SOG
Camielle Day l 1-4-2 W/L – 34 SV – 14 GA - .708 SV%
Up Next
Drake will continue conference play as it first will travel to Valparaiso (Sep. 22) and then return home to host Illinois State (Sep. 29).
