The Drake men’s soccer squad fell in overtime to SIU Edwardsville 2-1 on Saturday night, marking the second consecutive conference overtime loss for the Bulldogs.
The Cougars found the back of the net at the 12:20 mark to take a 1-0 lead into the break. Drake evened up the score at the 54:07 mark thanks to junior Addison Eck’s fifth goal of the season.
The score remained tied until Jared Tejada broke through for the Cougars in the first overtime session, ending the game at the 95:20 mark with his golden goal.
“I’m quite proud of our young team as SIU Edwardsville celebrated the graduation of eight starters tonight on Senior Night, and I thought we were every bit as good as them for long stretches of the game,” said head coach Sean Holmes in a Drake athletics press release. “To lose to a team on the road that came into the week ranked No. 23 in the RPI, there is no shame.”
With the loss, Drake fell to 4-10-3 overall and 1-2-1 in Missouri Valley Conference play, while SIU Edwardsville improved to 11-5 overall and 3-2 in the MVC. After winning three consecutive matches, the Bulldogs have now dropped three straight.
Drake struggled to control the tempo of the match in the first half, with SIU Edwardsville dominating the early stages of the game. The Cougars garnered an 8-6 shot advantage in the first half.
“We were overwhelmed at moments to start the game, and the goal they scored was reflective of the advantage they had over us in the opening minutes,” Holmes said. “We came into the game a little more as the half progressed and it was in the second half that we came into our own.”
Drake evened the match early in the second half, but lost control of the match heading into the overtime period. The Bulldogs were outshot 11-6 in the second half.
“In the last fifteen minutes of the game they grabbed hold of the contest again and perhaps were a little more mature than we were,” Holmes said. “In overtime, we failed to capitalize and get some sort of points on the night.”
The Cougars finished the match with a 21-12 shot advantage. Eck recorded a game-high four shots for the Bulldogs, and junior Bryan Jantsch was credited with the assist on the game-tying goal.
Redshirt junior goalkeeper Rich Gallagher recorded eight saves for the Bulldogs.
After a two-game road trip, the Bulldogs will return to Cownie Soccer Complex to take on Evansville on Saturday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. Drake will close its regular season action when it takes on Missouri State on the road on Friday, Nov. 2.
