Drake University Athletics

The Drake University women's soccer team claimed its fifth Missouri Valley Conference regular season title in 2017 with an unbeaten 6-0-1 record in league play. 

The Bulldogs won their first four league matches by a combined score of 13-4 before the win streak was stopped with a 0-0 draw at Missouri State. However, the team responded with a 3-2 win at Illinois State to clinch the league title before defeating Loyola, 1-0, in the regular-season finale. Drake entered the league tournament as the top seed, but were upended by UNI, 2-0, in the semifinals to close the season.

Drake was led by MVC Player of Year Rebecca Rodgers' 12 goals and 26 points as she earned her second MVC Player of the Year honor. Rodgers graduated as Drake's all-time goals scorer and ranks fifth all-time in MVC history with 39 career goals. She was a four-time All-MVC selection, who was second team as a freshman and first team in 2014, 2015 and 2017.

The league's Defensive Player of the Year was also a Bulldog as Ali Smith helped the team record seven clean sheets while starting 19 matches and scoring two goals with a team-high four assists from the back row. She also logged a team high in minutes. 

The team's final line of defense, Haley Morris, collected the league's Goalkeeper of the Year honors. In her first season as the team's primary goalkeeper, she started 17 of 18 matches and recorded six shutouts and tallied 89 saves. Morris' 12 wins tied for the single season program-high for a goalkeeper. 

All three were named to the All-MVC first team while Alyssa Brand, Brooke Salisbury and Kasey Hurt collected second team accolades. 

The team dropped three of its first six matches of the season with tough road losses at UNLV, Marquette and No. 16 Wisconsin before going unbeaten for nearly two months of action.

In the the 3-2 overtime win at Illinois State to clinch the MVC title, Smith headed in the golden goal in the 93rd minute off a corner kick from Kasey Hurt. Earlier in the match, Alyssa Brand scored a pair of goals, including the equalizer in the 73rd minute to keep Drake's title hopes alive.