NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Drake women's soccer team came away with a 2-2 draw against the Belmont Bruins on Thursday night from E.S. Rose Park in the first leg of its two-game road trip.
Drake was on the attack early against the Belmont backline and put pressure on the Bruins goalkeeper, Sydney Jones, forcing her take make a pair of saves just four minutes into the match. After a bit of a lull in the action following the two shots from the Bulldogs, Drake went on the offensive again.
In the 15th minute after gaining possession in the midfield, senior
Layla Kelbel put on a one person show. Kelbel carried the ball into the Belmont defensive zone baiting her defender to try and tackle it away from her and as soon as her defender made the attempt Kelbel made her move to slip past. Now with a clear shooting lane, Kelbel let it rip from just outside the box and sent the ball into the lower left corner of the goal putting Drake on the scoreboard.
The score of 1-0 held for the remainder of the half as the Bulldog defense stonewalled the Belmont offense and did not allow a shot on goal in the first 45 minutes. Comparatively, Drake tallied six shots in the half with four attempts on target.
After the restart for the second half, the offense was hard to come by for both sides as only one shot was taken in the first 20 minutes of play. The second shot of the half, however, led to a goal for Belmont.
In the 65th minute, Olivia Walker found the equalizer for the Bruins as she headed a goal off a cross to knot the match at 1-1.
Looking to regain their lead, the Bulldogs pressed on as the second half continued. The opportunity ultimately presented itself through a corner kick in the 72nd minute.
After coming into the contest as a substitution just two minutes before the corner attempt, sophomore
Isabella Balsley provided the Bulldogs with the goal they were looking for.
Angela Gutierrez was the one who sent the corner into the box and off the clear attempt from a Belmont defender the ball went directly to Balsley who netted the goal heading it home to make the score 2-1.
With just under 20 minutes to go in the match, Drake looked to hold on to its lead and leave the Music City with another league win. Belmont had different plans, however.
In a last-ditch effort to force a draw the Bruins earned a free kick just a few paces outside the Drake defending box. That proved to be costly for the Bulldogs with Belmont converting a header by Kate Virtel off the set piece in the 90th minute.
With just a few ticks remaining on the clock, the game ended with score even at 2-2.
"This was an incredibly intense and physical game, but I felt our players did well to keep their heads," Drake head coach
Lindsey Horner said. "I'm proud of how our players responded after they tied us up 1-1, and then at 2-1 we had a few great chances to put the game away to make it 3-1 but just couldn't convert on those.
"We played much of the second half without Madelyn [Smith], who is a big part of who we are and influences how we play. There is something to be said for taking away a point on the road, as this is a tough trip, but I know we can close games out like this to the final whistle. Sunday will be just as tough so we will focus on recovery and preparing."
Drake ended the match with 10 shots and had seven attempts come on target. Meanwhile, Belmont totaled seven shots and had two come on net. The Bulldogs also tallied five corner kicks to just two for the Bruins.
Eve Blakey recorded the most shot attempts for Drake with three in the match. All three attempts came on net. Balsley's goal marked her fourth of the season and continued her hot streak with her fourth goal in six matches.
Drake returns to the pitch with another road contest on Sunday, Sep. 28 against Murray State. Kickoff with the Races is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT.
