DES MOINES, Iowa. – The Drake women's soccer team tallied its first victory of the year in its final non-conference match of the season on Sunday afternoon. The Bulldogs used two first half goals to take down Western Illinois and claim a win on Senior Day in Des Moines. 
 
Drake (1-4-4) and Western Illinois (0-7-0) came into Sundays matinee both looking to add a number in the win column for the first time in 2024 and the Bulldogs struck first in their mission to accomplish that feat. In the 20th minute of play, Zoey Mahoney sent a long pass forward and connected with Eve Blakey who had gotten past her defender. After a couple of dribbles, Blakey ripped a shot past the Western Illinois goalkeeper giving Drake a 1-0 advantage.
 
As play continued, the Bulldogs stayed on the attack and added to their total just a few minutes before the halftime break. Junior midfielder Maddie Rosenblum carried the ball into the attack zone down the right side of the pitch and sent a cross into box. From there, Kendall Starcevich was able to get a back heel on the pass and flicked it over to Madelyn Smith who came crashing in to poke it into the back of the net (43') making the score 2-0 in favor of the Bulldogs. 
 
Coming out of halftime, Western Illinois took advantage of the one shot on goal they had all game. Alexis Betker found herself all alone at the midfield mark when she received the ball on a breakaway and before any Drake defensive support could catch up, the senior launched a shot from distance that floated into the goal to put the Leathernecks on the board in the 55th minute.
 
Despite conceding a goal, the Bulldogs stayed on the offensive and got off eight more shots in the second half looking to add some insurance. And although the insurance never materialized, Drake's lockdown defensive efforts kept the Leathernecks at bay for the remainder of the contest to secure the 2-1 victory.
 
"I'm excited we got the win for our seniors and that a lot of players got on the field for us today," Drake head coach Lindsey Horner said. "We were able to start Avery [Mertz] and Hallie [Peak] after they've been out with injuries and to get Lauren Kullberg in after her long recovery from surgery. We created some great chances, but our two goals were very good and repeatable pictures we could see again. Our entire roster is disappointed about letting the shutout slip away, but we did have a lot of players on the field that haven't played all the much together, so that's just as much on me. We are excited to enter MVC play with a blank slate. Our first two games are going to be against proper contenders for the title so it's go time for us."
 
Drake dominated in the shots category totaling 22 compared to just the one for Western Illinois. The Bulldogs also tallied 10 corner kicks while the Leathernecks didn't register one.
 
The Bulldogs will remain in Des Moines for the next match, which opens conference play, versus Missouri State (Sep. 19) and then will hit the road to take on Valparaiso (Sep. 22).