Scoring more than one goal for the first time since Sep. 28, NIU men’s soccer (3-12, 1-6 MVC) dropped a 3-2 loss against the Drake University Bulldogs (9-3-3, 5-0-2 MVC) on Friday. The Huskies were eliminated from Missouri Valley Conference Tournament contention with the loss and other results around the MVC.
“Tonight kind of sums up our season,” said NIU men’s soccer head coach Ryan Swan via NIU Athletics. “I thought there was some really good stuff, both goals that we scored were really good, but the three goals we conceded were really disappointing. It was things we talked about all week in training, Drake are very direct, they are good in the air. They can’t go uncontested in the box and they scored two uncontested headers, and we got caught in a bad spot and gave away a penalty.”
The Huskies struck first when freshman midfielder Grant Paskus connected with junior midfielder Jose Gomez, who found the back of the net to put the Huskies up in the 13th minute.
The Bulldogs responded minutes later when junior forward Eloge Iradukunda sent a header past NIU sophomore goalkeeper Atahan Arslan to level the score.
In the 41st minute, the Huskies conceded a penalty in the box, awarding Drake a penalty kick. Senior midfielder Kai Knuchel converted the shot to give the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead.
The score remained 2-1 for nearly 20 minutes of the second half until Drake scored its third straight goal. In the 74th minute, sophomore defender Cole Schrage headed the ball past Arslan and into the net to increase Drake’s lead to two.
The Huskies attempted to stage a comeback when freshman midfielder Martin Montoya sent a low ball past Drake freshman goalkeeper Tomas Butkovic to cut the Bulldogs lead to one.
The Huskies were outshot 10-5, while Drake created 8 shots on goal in comparison to the Huskies’ 3 shots on goal.
Aslan recorded 5 saves to keep the Huskies in contention, while Butkovic saved one shot for the Bulldogs.
The Huskies play their last match of the season at 7 p.m. Wednesday against Bradley University at Shea Stadium in Peoria. Live stats will be updated on SIDEARM Stats and a live stream will be available on ESPN+.
