VALPARAISO, Ind. – The Drake women's soccer team had its first road conference match of the season on Sunday afternoon as it took on the Beacons of Valparaiso in a rematch of the 2023 MVC Tournament championship game from a rainy Brown Field. The Bulldogs came away with the victory, 2-1, in dramatic fashion with two goals in the final five minutes.
The Bulldogs and Beacons played out much of the first half in a defensive battle with neither squad finding many opportunities on the offensive end. In the 35th minute, however, Valparaiso put one on the board in unconventional fashion. Coming off a corner kick, Addy Joiner sent a cross into the box and the ball deflected off a Bulldog defender on the clear attempt and ended up going into the back of the net for the only score in the first half.
As the rain continued to fall, the Bulldogs went on the offensive trying to find an equalizer coming out of halftime. In total, Drake fired off eight shots in the second half compared to just two by Valparaiso, but the chances were still slim. That changed in the 85th, however. The Bulldogs duo of
Layla Kelbel and
Angela Gutierrez connected with Kelbel sending a cross in from the right side and Gutierrez tucking it into the lower corner off a header knotting the match at 1-1.
Following the late equalizer, Drake continued to press the Beacons in search for another goal and took advantage of a turnover at midfield. Once again Kelbel received the ball down the right side and sent it toward the Beacons goal, which glanced off a Valparaiso defender past the goalkeeper, giving the Bulldogs the lead in the 87th minute. A couple of minutes later, the final whistle blew securing the win for Drake, 2-1.
"Our players deserve this feeling more than any team I've coached," Drake head coach
Lindsey Horner said. "This team continues to learn, believe, and battle but just hadn't earned the results in tight games until today. It could have been so easy to fold on the road, in the rain, and down a goal so I'm proud of their determination. I don't know that we've come home with three points from here since Valparaiso joined the league. Typically, I would force our group to switch gears and start thinking about our recovery and our next opponent but with a Thursday bye and how tough our season has been, I'll let them soak this in for one more day."
Drake outshot Valparaiso by a final tally of 13-7 with seven Bulldog attempts coming on target. The Bulldogs also earned more corner kicks with a slight edge over the Beacons, 5-4. Meanwhile,
Addie Ford registered three saves in goal for Drake.
The Bulldogs will return to action in one week's time as they host Illinois State for a Sunday bout on Sep. 29. Kickoff from Mediacom Stadium is slated for 1 p.m.
