CHICAGO, Ill. – The Drake University men's soccer team got back to even .500 with a Labor Day victory at DePaul. The Bulldogs came back from a 1-0 deficit with a pair of second-half goals despite fielding only 10 players to beat DePaul, 2-1.
 
"We hit the road for a long weekend with the goal of growing as a team and clear, definable expectations in our performances," Bulldog associate head coach Kyle Smith said. "We will remember this trip to Chicago as a positive with a lot of adversity."
 
Neither team could come through in the first half despite a handful of opportunities. The Blue Demons took seven shots to Drake's three over the first 45 minutes, a stat that would flip in the second half. The two teams took their scoreless stalemate into the halftime break.
 
After the respite, DePaul got cooking in the 50th minute. Chase Stegall was assisted by Ryan Thomas for his first goal of the season. The score put the Blue Demons up, 1-0.
 
Momentum shifted further towards DePaul midway through the second half when Drake's Austin Holtebeck, a veteran on the Bulldogs' back end, was sent off with a red card. That did not stop the gritty group from Des Moines, however. In the 72nd minute, freshman striker Preston Kipnusu gathered an Evan Carlson dish before putting one past the keeper to tie the score. It marked Kipnusu's first-ever goal as a collegiate player.
 
The clock ticked under 15 minutes with the score squared up when Drake, still playing a man down, found themselves on the right side of a whistle. A usual starter, Damian Segura came on as a reserve on Monday and provided the go-ahead goal from the penalty line (80'). The PK was Segura's fourth in as many games for the Bulldogs this season.


 
The final 10 minutes elapsed without another tally as Drake eked out an impressive road win, 2-1.
 
"Today was an opportunity to test our fortitude and trust our belief in one another," Smith added. "The response from everyone [in our program] with being a man down and needing two goals is what being part of a team is all about. The effort on the field was superb, our bench was [locked] into the match, and the support in the stands helped us get over the finish line."
 
In total, the Dogs outshot DePaul 11-10 and 6-2 on target. Segura added another shot as the only Drake player to attempt multiple in the contest. In goal, Tomas Butkovic earned the W with a save to his credit.
 
"Ultimately, we fell short of our goal of two road victories [on the trip]," Smith concluded. "But today's performance was another step in the right direction. Go Bulldogs."
 
Drake will now return to Des Moines for two-straight home matches against Houston Christian (Sep. 6) and Kansas City (Sep. 9).