DES MOINES, Iowa – Drake men's soccer hosted the Knights of Wartburg College in a Saturday night showdown at Mediacom Stadium. Wartburg kept things closer than the stat sheet indicated, which was soundly dominated by the Dogs, but Drake was able to log a pair of goals to oust the Knights by a 2-0 margin.
"That was a great night for Iowa soccer," said
Pat Flinn, Drake's head coach. "I coached enough Division III soccer [earlier in my career] to know we would be tested tonight, and I give a ton of credit to Wartburg. They fought for 90 minutes and have some really talented players along with their collective commitment."
The Knights proved to be a handful from the opening kickoff, keeping pace with Drake for much of the first half. Midway through the period, Drake swapped six players for a handful of reserves, which boosted the Bulldogs just enough to snap the stalemate.
Mamadou Sow stepped up for the Dogs, scoring his first goal of the year in the 39th minute after a
Cael Orban assist. The 1-0 tally held over the final few minutes of the first half.
The Bulldogs got out to a better start after the halftime break, scoring again just eight minutes into the second stanza.
Dalton Visconti chased down a
Cole Schrage offering, which came after a pinpoint pass from
Leo Rodriguez, to double the Drake lead at 2-0.
Drake's defense locked down from there, keeping the Knights off the board for the remainder of Saturday's tilt. The Bulldogs secured their second straight shutout result to lift their season record to 2-0-2.
"Our guys responded to what we asked of them following our lethargic performance on Wednesday," Flinn added. "We played with a lot more energy off the ball and in transition. The key for us is to build off a positive performance rather than take a step back. It's all about the next action now. Go Dogs."
The goals by Sow and Visconti marked the season's first for both. In net,
Tomas Butkovic made one save while Wartburg's Joseph Svoboda performed admirably against the Drake attack with seven saves.
Drake outshot Wartburg 10-0 in the first 45 minutes and attempted four corner kicks to the Knights' two. The visitors managed two attempts in the second half, but Drake maintained the same difference at 12-2, reaching the final 22-2 shot count.
The Bulldogs will continue their homestand on Wednesday night when the Panthers of Milwaukee come to town. Drake and Milwaukee are set for another double-header nightcap at 7:30 p.m. in Mediacom Stadium.
