DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake women's soccer team got back in the win column after two consecutive ties with a 1-0 victory over the Belmont Bruins on Sunday afternoon from Mediacom Stadium.
The Bulldogs and Bruins set the physical tone of the match in the early stages with both sides vying to earn precious points on the Missouri Valley Conference table with just a handful of games remaining in the regular season. Through the first 20 minutes of play, however, Drake was the dominant side totaling four shots in that span but only having one attempt on net.
A few moments later, the Bulldogs appeared to strike first with a goal by
Claire Emmerich in the 28th minute but after a video a review it was deemed that Drake was offsides and the score was wiped from the board.
Drake's fortunes turned back in its favor just 11 minutes later, however, as it was rewarded a penalty kick due to a handball in the box by a Belmont defender.
Zoey Mahoney stepped up for the attempt and proceeded to burry a blast past the Bruins goalkeeper for the only score of the period.
At the halftime break, Drake had produced eight shots while Belmont tallied four. Starting goalie
Addie Ford made the save in her lone shot faced in the first 45 minutes.
The second half of the match turned into more of defensive battle between Drake and Belmont with the physical nature still at the forefront of the action.
In the 59th minute, it was the Bruins who thought they had a penalty kick opportunity with a handball in the box against Drake after a shot attempt by Reagan Ross was blocked. Once again, the game was paused for a video review, but it was ultimately ruled that there was no handball.
As time wound down on the clock, Drake went into defensive mode and played keep away from Belmont with some strategic passing to negate any hopes for an equalizer. Drake's strategy proved effective with the match coming to end with the score at 1-0.
"Today's game wasn't the prettiest, but this time of year when both teams have so much to play for the margin of victory is going to get smaller," Drake head coach
Lindsey Horner said. "I was pleased with our willingness to absorb a direct style and compete for first and second balls. The game had a lot of stoppages with video review, we had a goal called back, thought we had a penalty for us, but then also had one reviewed against us and all these could add up to frustration or angst but I thought we did a good job of seeing out the game and keeping the clean sheet. We are pleased to get the win at home and gain momentum heading into Carbondale."
Mahoney now has three goals on the season after her penalty conversion, which is tied for the third most on the team. She also paced the Bulldogs in shots in the match with three alongside midfielder
Mika Marolly. The goalkeeping duo of Ford and
Kate Hopma for Drake earned their fourth combined shutout of the season with Hopma coming into play for the second half and collecting two saves.
Drake's next match will see the Bulldogs challenge the current league leaders, Southern Illinois, on Sunday, Oct. 25 from Carbondale, Illinois. Kickoff against the Saluki's is scheduled for 1 p.m.
