A late goal by Cal State Bakersfield’s Sam Pena proved to be the difference on Sunday as the Bulldogs fell 2-1 on their Senior Day.
Drake fell to 3-7-4 with the loss.
“When we were able to get in behind or around them out on the flank and it amounted to nothing, Bakersfield gained confidence,” head coach Lindsey Horner said in a Drake athletics press release. “It’s unfortunate we couldn’t have gotten a result for our seniors on their day.”
The six seniors honored before the game were Melanie Fielder, Danielle Figliola, Lauren Berner, Angela Chigazola, Amanda Wallace and Lindsey Johnston.
“Our teammates, coaches and family members did a great job of making the day truly special,” Fielder said. “It was a blur as the six of us walked out linked arm in arm. The announcer was reading biographies but the sound was drown out within all the excitement on the field.”
Despite being winless in their last seven matches, the Roadrunners got on the board with Pena’s first goal of the afternoon. Following an Emily Noethe pass, Pena took advantage of a one-on-one opportunity to open up the score at the 11:22 mark.
It didn’t take long for the Bulldogs to respond. Sophomore Paige Dusek found the back of the net at the 18:26 mark to tie up the score at one. Berner and Chigazola were credited with the assists on the play.
Drake outshot CSU Bakersfield 8-5 in the first half, but that did not reflect any superiority on the scoreboard as both teams headed to the break with a 1-1 deadlock.
Despite the Roadrunners registering a 10-3 shot advantage over the Bulldogs in the second half, and 16-14 in the game, only four of those shots were put on goal.
The Bulldogs put nine shots on goal but could not capitalize on their opportunities. It wasn’t until the 83:46 mark that Pena broke through to tally her second goal of the afternoon and give CSU Bakersfield the 2-1 win.
“Today we looked like we were young in the back at times, and they punished us for it,” Horner said. “Bakersfield made good on two of their three chances when they got in behind our backs, but we only capitalized on one of our several opportunities.”
Chigazola and Dusek paced the offense with three shots each. Sophomore Kalena Litch registered two saves. Litch moved into a tie for third with Jenny Schroeder (2008) for the most saves in a single season at Drake with 95 saves.
The Bulldogs will hit the road to take on Texas A&M tomorrow at 6:30 p.m.
“We need to win at least two of our remaining three MVC games. This would put us in a good position heading into the conference tournament,” Fielder said.
