DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University women's soccer team suffered a home defeat at the hands of rival Missouri State on Thursday afternoon. The Bulldogs and Bears were knotted at the half, but Drake could not keep up with the relentless visiting bunch down the stretch, despite their competitive display.
The scoring started early as Missouri State's Lillie Rasmussen netted her first goal of the year just six minutes to the game. Rasmussen was assisted by Jane Hansen. Not long after, in the 12th minute, Drake's
Maia Bentley echoed the Bears' early strike with one of her own. Bentley's connection evened the tally at 1-1, which held through the first half.
The battle continued after the mid-game hiatus with sturdy defense taking over. Neither team could find much of a groove until Missouri State's Grace O'Keefe struck, with the help of Reilly Heman. O'Keefe's goal, her first of the season, pinballed around Drake keeper Addi Ford to break the stalemate and propel the Bears in front.
Missouri State eventually added the dagger a Heman added to her productive afternoon with her third goal of the season (89'). Drake turned around and fought back over the final few moments, narrowly missing a pair of shots, but did not have enough time as the Bears won, 3-1.
Drake outshot Missouri State 12-9 overall, but the Bears held a 7-4 advantage in shots on target. Angela Guteirrez was shutout in scoring but led all players with four shots while
Madelyn Smith added two more, both on goal.
Ford finished the day with four saves, one more than Missouri State's Camielle Day with three.
"The MVC season is long, and we just faced the top preseason pick and outshot them," Drake head coach
Lindsey Horner said. "At 2-1, I felt we had to go for our second goal, and it left us exposed on the counter. We competed, created great chances, and were hard to break down when we were set [up]. We had momentum to start the second half and even had them pinned down but didn't convert and conceded. I'm excited to see how we respond on the road against another quality opponent."
Drake will hit the road for their next tilt with a visit to Valparaiso for a rematch of last year's MVC Tournament title game (Sep. 22).
