SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Drake University men's soccer traveled to the Show Me State for its final non-conference match of the year on Tuesday night. The Bulldogs battled former Missouri Valley Conference rival Missouri State in a tightly contested tilt, but the Bears had just enough to earn the 1-0 result and hand Drake its first defeat of the season.

Drake looked to get things going early in Tuesday's action with a pair of shots by Evan Carlson and Jonathan Mendez, but neither was converted and the quick Drake momentum was flipped in the 24th minute when Ryder Barrett was issued a yellow card.

After a video review, Barrett was deemed to make excessive contact with a Missouri State Bear who was streaking toward the Bulldogs' goal. Barrett was then sent off after the card was upgraded to a red.

Seconds later, with the Bulldogs now playing a man down, Missouri State cashed in on the momentum shift with a goal by Daniele Verdirosi. The Bears' 1-0 lead held into the halftime break.
Drake did its best to battle back and erase the narrow deficit in the second half. The Bulldogs attempted four shots to Missouri State's two over the final 45 minutes but could not find the equalizer as the Bears went on to win by the same 1-0 margin.

"The red card and a goal on the ensuing set piece is always going to be difficult to bounce back from," Drake head coach Pat Flinn said. "I'm proud of the fight and performance a man down. We made chances and could have earned a result despite being a man down. On to the next action…big game on Friday. Go Dogs."

MSU outshot Drake 8-6 overall and had twice as many shots on goal, 4-2.

Drake keeper Tomas Butkovic, who was awarded his second MVC Defensive Player of the Week award earlier in the day, made three saves for the Bulldogs. Missouri State's GK Jonathan Kliewer stopped two Drake shots.

Offensively, Evan Carlson and Preston Kipnusu each had a shot on target while Mendez, Cole Essner, Crew Alvarez, and Dalton Visconti all fired off one shot apiece.

Drake will conclude its final road swing of the 2025 season later this week when they visit Nashville for a date with Belmont. The Bulldogs and Bruins will kick things off at 7 p.m. on Oct. 24.