OMAHA, Neb. – The Drake women's soccer team closed out its non-conference slate on Saturday night with a road contest against the Omaha Mavericks and fought to a 1-1 draw.
There was little action to be desired in the first 45 minutes of play between the Bulldogs and Mavericks and the two sides went into halftime scoreless. Drake had the better opportunities of the two ripping two shots on target, but both attempts were saved. Omaha recorded just one shot in the half, comparatively. Drake also tested the Omaha defense with five corners.
When the second half started, the offensive action was near immediate, however, it was in favor of Omaha. Just two minutes after the restart, the Mavericks scored from a goal by Jasmyn Brown to give them the lead.
Looking to find an equalizer, Drake looked to press forward but was still finding no luck for most of the second half. That changed, however, in the 79th minute.
Freshman
Addy Basler found the back of the net unassisted to even the match with her first career goal, which proved to be the last score of the night and the match ended in a draw.
Drake had the edge in shots for the match, 9-8, but had seven attempts on target compared to four for Omaha. The Bulldogs also had the edge in corner kicks, 8-6.
Angela Gutierrez was the leader in shots for Drake tallying four with three attempts on net. Goalkeeper
Kate Hopma, meanwhile, recorded three saves.
"That's the type of game we needed going to MVC play," Drake head coach
Lindsey Horner said. "The first half was tight with both teams not really able to generate much from open play. If the first half was more of a chess match, the second half was a battle with the game opening up. We didn't start the second half well, which led to their free kick and goal but the response from our team was exactly what we'd want. As coaches we start our non-conference with the hopes of growing through adversity, gaining confidence, and meshing as a unit. Aside from some injuries, we feel like these last nine games helped us accomplish that."
Drake's next match will be its first conference game of the season as it heads to Valparaiso on Sunday, Sep. 20. Kickoff with the Beacons is slated for 1 p.m.
