DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University men's soccer team kicked off a four-game homestand on Wednesday night in the opening game of a double-header with both Bulldog men and women. The Drake men's squad outlasted a pesky Green Bay Phoenix bunch to earn a 2-0 result.
The first half timer nearly expired before first blood was drawn, but Drake's leading point scorer had other ideas.
Evan Carlson tied his single-season goals mark of three when he found the back of the net in the 41st minute.
Malachi Anya and
Judah Shalit assisted on the play.
Carlson's spurt of energy sent the Bulldogs into the locker room with a 1-0 lead despite a largely uneventful opening period.
Wednesday's action got turned up to another level after the break. Green Bay, which went shotless in the first half, led Drake in attempts by a 7-1 margin over the final 45 minutes, but none of those tries found the target.
Drake was able to secure an important insurance goal in the 62nd minute when a
Sam DeLong throw in caromed off a leaping Phoenix and toward a charging
Jackson Kirsch. The Drake captain connected on an absolute laser that screamed past Drew Swancutt in goal. Kirsch's goal was his first of the year and doubled Drake's lead.
Later in the second half, things got dramatic as the Phoenix looked to rise from the 2-0 ashes and cut into Drake's lead.
Crew Alvarez, who started for the second consecutive outing on Wednesday, was assigned a red card after an altercation with one of the visitors. Two Green Bay student-athletes in Rayme Nyembwe and Nathan Hendricks were also each given a yellow card in the same stretch.
Alvarez's red card forced Drake to play a man down for the final nine minutes, which proved inconsequential as the Dogs held on for their 2-0 victory.
"Of course I'm happy we won," Drake head coach
Pat Flinn said. "It's hard to win games and needed a win but, in terms of performance, I'm disappointed in our energy levels and transitions. I hope our leaders see it for what it was, a win but a weak performance. We are capable of so much more and we will keep working to get there. Next action…Go Dogs."
Drake only fired off two shots and scored on both. The Bulldogs also trailed in corner kick attempts, 2-0.
In goal, neither keeper logged a save but Drake's
Tomas Butkovic kept the Phoenix off the board.
The Bulldogs will be back in action this Saturday, Aug. 29, for another home matchup. Drake is set to host Wartburg College at 7 p.m. in Mediacom Stadium.
