MURRAY, Ky. – The Drake women's soccer team earned their second Missouri Valley Conference win of the season on Sunday afternoon with a victory over Murray State, 1-0.
 
It was a bit of a slow start between the Bulldogs and Racers over the first 15 minutes of action with limited offensive chances between the two sides. Drake, however, gained an opportunity in the 18th minute and capitalized off the chance to grab the early lead.
 
After goalkeeper Addie Ford sent the ball deep into the Murray State side of the pitch, the Racers looked to control possession. They did for a moment until a bad pass was picked off by Lauren Kullberg, and the Bulldogs went on the counterattack immediately. Kullberg quickly found Madelyn Smith in the open field and after a couple dribbles, the senior sent a perfectly place through ball into the box for Eve Blakey. Blakey beat her defender to the ball and then flicked it over the Murray State goalkeeper into the back of the net.
 
The remainder of the half saw a couple more shots taken by each team, but neither side converted and the score of 1-0 held at the break. In the first half, Drake recorded five shots compared to four for the Racers, but Murray State did register three attempts on net compared to just a pair for the Bulldogs.
 
In the second half, Drake's offense was held relatively in check as it only logged two shots in the final 45 minutes. The Bulldogs almost had another goal on the board in the 79th minute off a penalty attempt by Blakey, but it was saved by the Murray State goalkeeper to keep the score at 1-0.
 
Despite Murray State's efforts to find an equalizer, the Drake defense held strong and fended off the comeback attempt to secure the victory.
 
"Murray State is a good side at home, so this is a great result and just the response to the late Belmont goal we were hoping for," Drake head coach Lindsey Horner said. "That was a very well earned shutout for our team as Murray State has pace up top, long free kicks, and long throws. I'm most pleased of how we got quality minutes out of our bench. This is a grueling trip so we needed fresh legs and energy and our players came through."
 
The Racers outshot the Bulldogs in the match by a mark of 9-7, and tallied more attempts on net, 6-4. The Racers also earned four corners to none for Drake.
 
Blakey's goal marked her eighth of the season, which leads the team, and surpasses her total from 2024. Smith picked up her fourth assist of the season, which is now tied for the team lead. Mika Marolly, Layla Kelbel, and Isabella Balsley also logged shots on goal for the Bulldogs. Defensively, Ford earned the shutout and tallied six saves in the match.
 
Drake's next match will be a week from today as it hosts Indiana State from Mediacom Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 5. Kickoff with the Sycamores is slated for 1 p.m. CT.