DES MOINES, Iowa – Drake men's soccer could not overcome a narrow 1-0 deficit on Monday night as the Bulldogs were held off by the 23rd-ranked Roos of Kansas City.
The competitive atmosphere was palpable from the opening kick inside Drake Stadium as the Roos and Bulldogs squared off in a regional rivalry fixture on Labor Day. The two teams traded probes as each side looked to find an early advantage, but neither could crack the opposing defense.
Eventually, Drake's
Jack Dancer and
Sam DeLong were both flagged for yellow cards in the 26th minute, just a few moments before Kansas City (3-1-1) struck with a score. Brice Miller, Jr. and Brevyn Cole distributed to a charging Ian Witis-Hughes who connected just in front of the Bulldog goal. Witis-Hughes' 31st-minute tally gave the Roos a 1-0 lead, which they maintained through the remainder of the first half.
After the half, Drake (3-1-2) seemed to catch a break as KC's Raphael Kistmann was assigned double yellow cards, leading to an ejection. The Bulldogs put their foot on the gas from there, looking to take advantage of the Roos' personnel adjustment.
The Bulldogs outshot Kansas City 8-3 in the final 45 minutes, and 12-8 in the match, but they could not finish off any opportunities.
In the waning stages, Kansas City's Ales Kohoutek and Guille Munoz were both given yellow cards while Drake kept swinging away, trying to find the equalizer. With under 10 seconds to play, the final countdown pumping through the Mediacom Stadium speakers,
Evan Carlson lined up a loose ball well within striking position, but the Dogs' leading point scorer mishit the offering and the final horn sounded with Kansas City still on top 1-0.
"It's never fun to lose at home or to a regional rival," Drake head
Pat Flinn said, "but credit to Kansas City on their win tonight. They're a very good team as they've proven that over the last few years. At the end of the day, it felt like a proper, competitive college soccer match. They got their moment right in the first half and we narrowly missed on a few chances [when it was] 0-0 and then again down 1-0. We will learn from this battle and move forward. Go Dogs."
Cole Schrage and
Landon Benge each had three shots to lead the Bulldog attack with all three of Benge's finding the target.
Tomas Butkovic made one save in goal for Drake while KC's Brandon Kincaid kept the Bulldogs off the board with four saves of his own.
The Labor Day loss was Drake's first of the year and ended a 4-game homestand for the Dogs. Flinn's squad will now hit the road for its next quartet of collisions starting with a Sep. 12 trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma for a date with Oral Roberts.
