OMAHA, Neb. – Despite not leaving Omaha with a victory, the Drake men's soccer team extended their unbeaten stretch to five games on Tuesday evening. The Bulldogs matched a first-half Omaha goal with one of their own in the second to get even and reach the eventual final score of 1-1.
 
Omaha (4-1-2) returned to the pitch on Tuesday after an eight-day break and started in control of the match. The Mavericks eventually posted the night's first score in the 33rd minute when Wawa Pagla delivered, unassisted, for his second goal of the year. The Mavericks took their 1-0 lead into the half.
 
The Bulldogs (5-2-1) came out of the halftime break looking to retaliate, and they did just that. Drake's offense started clicking as the Bulldogs outshot Omaha 4-3 over the final 45 minutes. In the 71st stanza, one of Drake's shots connected as Eskil Gjerde delivered a penalty goal, his first score of the year.
 
The final 19 minutes elapsed with no further blood drawn as the Bulldogs and Mavericks tied, 1-1.
 
Gjerde was matched by Damian Segura atop the stat sheet with two shots apiece. Tomas Butkovic also posted a deuce with two saves for Drake.
 
"With the long road trip over the [last] weekend and Omaha having a long break, I always felt like this could be a really tough match," Drake head coach Pat Flinn said. "Credit to our guys, they got a gritty road result and deserved it with their performance."
 
Drake's five-game unblemished streak matches its longest since 2015, a year in which they qualified for the NCAA Tournament.
 
The Bulldogs will be back in action this weekend when Belmont visits Des Moines on Sep. 22 before traveling to Milwaukee for their final non-conference bout of the season.