DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake women's soccer team returned to action after having a midweek bye and played hosted to conference foe Illinois State on Sunday afternoon. The Bulldogs put together a complete performance and came away with a clean sheet in a 3-0 victory.
Drake and Illinois State spent much of the first half getting a feel for the game with limited chances for either squad, but it was the Bulldogs who finally broke the stalemate in the 32nd minute of play. Taking advantage off a turnover from Illinois State in its defensive zone,
Angela Gutierrez connected with
Eve Blakey who ripped a shot into the lower corner of the net from just outside of the box.
It didn't take long for Drake to follow up its first goal with another. Just two minutes later, in the 34th, minute the Bulldogs gained possession and went in the attack.
Isabella Balsley carried the ball down the right side of the pitch towards the goal and after briefly losing it, the freshman beat her defender back to the ball and snuck it by the goalkeeper for her third goal of the season. Drake carried its 2-0 lead into the break.
Coming out of halftime, the Bulldogs continued to put pressure on the Redbird backline leading to a few more opportunities. In the 53rd minute, the Bulldogs earned a corner kick and as
Madelyn Smith sent her cross into the box,
Avery Mertz nailed home a header.
The Bulldogs defense protected its lead the remainder of the match and secured the 3-0 victory. Drake outshot Illinois State on the day 11-7 overall and in shots on goal 6-3. Despite not earning any corners in the first 45 minutes, the Bulldogs also tallied more than the Redbirds by the matches end, 5-3.
"This is the performance we have been waiting for," Drake head coach
Lindsey Horner said. "Around the 30-minute mark it started to feel like it could be another game where we let the opponent hang around and gain confidence, but then we took over. At halftime we felt we had to tidy up playing back into pressure and also get at their outside backs as we didn't earn a single corner in the first half. For Avery [Mertz] to score off a corner was rewarding as our wingers were quite dangerous in the second half. We are pleased to gain momentum and earn points today before our Indiana trip."
The shutout was completed by a duo of Drake keepers in
Addie Ford and
Kate Hopma. Ford recorded two saves in the match, while Hopma tallied one.
Drake will next head east for its following two matches first taking on Indiana State on Oct. 3 and then Evansville on Oct. 6.
