The Basics
Drake men's soccer returns to Mediacom Stadium for its final home match of the 2025 regular season tomorrow night. The Bulldogs welcome Bradley to Des Moines on Nov. 5 to celebrate Senior Day with major MVC Tournament seeding implications at stake.
 
Bulldog Breakdown
Drake suffered a setback in its most recent contest with a 2-1 loss at Western Michigan on Halloween, marking the Bulldogs' second defeat in their last three matches. A gritty 1-0 shutout of Belmont in Nashville preceded the loss at WMU.
 
Despite being at the bottom of the MVC stat sheet in total saves with 40, Drake goalkeeper Tomas Butkovic is third in the league with an .800 save percentage. He also has the league's best goals against average at .676 while posting a conference high seven shutouts.
 
The Bulldogs have already secured a spot in the MVC Tournament, but seeding has yet to be determined. Drake is still mathematically alive to earn any one of the six seeds in the league bracket.
 
Key Players
Jackson Kirsch – 9 PTS, 3 G, 3 AST
Preston Kipnusu – 9 PTS, 4 G, AST
Crew Alvarez – 6 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 – 40 SV, .800 SV%, 0.68 GAA
 
Scouting Bradley
Bradley's 2025 campaign will come to an end on Wednesday as the Braves are currently last in the MVC standings. Bradley owns an overall record of 2-8-6 and league mark of 0-4-2. The Braves' two wins came over Milwaukee in late August and Division III foe Millikin on Sep. 19. Bradley has lost four of its last five matches with a 1-1 tie vs. current MVC first-place squad Evansville on Oct. 24 serving as their most recent positive result.
 
Drake and Bradley have had a back-and-forth rivalry throughout the history of both programs. The Braves lead the all-time series 21-20-3, but Drake has had the upper hand in the last 15 years. Drake is looking for its first home win over Bradley since 2022.
 
Tim Regan is in his second season leading Bradley's men's soccer team. He has posted a record of 6-16-10 during his tenure.
 
Key Players
Mitch Coughlon – 15 PTS, 7 G, AST
DJ Koulai – 8 PTS, 2 G, 4 AST
Nokkvi Hjorvasson – 7 PTS, 2 G, 3 AST
Drew Berry – 81 SV, .711 SV%, 2.06 GAA
 
Up Next
The 2026 MVC Men's Soccer Championship will start on Nov. 9 with quarterfinal action. If Drake were to clinch a top two seed, the Bulldogs would not play until the semifinals on Nov. 12. The league title match is set for Nov. 15 and will be played at the highest remaining seed's home pitch.