The Basics
Drake men's soccer will be back in action at Mediacom Stadium tomorrow night for a Missouri Valley Conference Tournament semifinal match. The No. 2 seed Bulldogs will take on No. 6 seed Western Michigan at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 12.
Bulldog Breakdown
Drake got back on track with a 4-2 win over Bradley in comeback fashion to close its 2025 regular season slate. The Bulldogs needed a hat trick from
Evan Carlson to battle back and take down the Braves, securing the program's first ever regular season title in the process.
Carlson's trio of goals vs. Bradley marked the highest single-game total for an individual player in The Valley this season.
Earlier in the week,
Eskil Gjerde highlighted Drake's postseason award winners with his second MVC Midfielder of the Year honor in as many seasons. Gjerde and
Cole Schrage were named to the Missouri Valley Conference First Team. Drake had a trio of Second Team performers including
Tomas Butkovic,
Sam DeLong, and
Preston Kipnusu. Standout rookie
Crew Alvarez was included on the Missouri Valley Conference All-Freshman Team.
Key Players
Evan Carlson – 7 PTS, 3 G
Crew Alvarez – 7 PTS, G, 4 AST
Landon Benge – 4 PTS, 2 G
Eskil Gjerde – 4 PTS, G, 2 AST
Damian Segura – 4 PTS, 2 G
Tomas Butkovic – 42 SV, .778 SV%, 0.76 GAA
Scouting Western Michigan
Western Michigan will venture to Des Moines with its sights set on continuing the Broncos' run through the MVC Tournament. The Broncos entered bracket play as the No. 6 seed and took down No. 3 Northern Illinois on the road to advance to Wednesday's semifinal clash.
WMU went 6-9-3 overall this season with a 2-2-3 mark in conference play. The Broncos handed Drake its second loss of the season just two weeks ago with a 2-1 result in Kalamazoo on Halloween.
Western Michigan has owned the all-time series with Drake, winning five of six matches while playing to one draw. The Bulldogs are 0-2 all-time vs. WMU in Des Moines.
Key Players
Braxton Arpachinda – 10 PTS, 3 G, 4 AST
Jonathan Stout – 10 PTS, 5 G
Sahel Yessen – 9 PTS, 3 G, 3 AST
Roni Sylejmani – 8 PTS, 3 G, 2 AST
Alex Lindwerth – 42 SV, .712 SV%, 1.36 GAA
Up Next
The winner of Wednesday's tilt will advance to the MVC Championship on Saturday, Nov. 15. Either Drake or Western Michigan would take on the winner of No. 1 Evansville or No. 5 UIC with the highest remaining team serving as championship host.
