Missouri State - 1
Western Illinois - 1
The Bears took on the Western Illinois Bulldogs Saturday in the final of their Comfort Inn/Diadora Invitational Tournament. The Bulldogs, ranked #9 in the Midwest, NCAA Qualifiers and Mid-Con Conference Champions in 2006, are one of four teams from the Mid-Con Conference that the Bears will face this year. Featuring the Defensive Player of the Year in goalkeeper Stephen Paterson and Newcomer of the Year in forward Martin Browne Jr (#11), the Bulldogs presented a strong challenge and good measure of what the Bears may accomplish this year.
The good news is that as captain Kenny Boutsabouabane alluded to following Tuesday’s match, the defense and midfield are strong. By my measure, the Bears did not give up a shot on goal until the 64th minute of the match. That came after taking the lead in 52nd minute on a fine set piece, set up by Henry Lawrence II who slid a ball into the six yard box that sr Andy Cooper ran onto and touched into back of the net in front of his defender. It was Cooper’s first goal in 50 starts as a Bear and boded well.
The bad news? For the second time in three games this week, the Bears found themselves playing a man down when Cooper was sent off for dissent in the 66th minute. The Bulldogs took advantage when Browne, a threat throughout the match from his wide position, used the time and space to beat his defender one-on-one and earn a free kick for the Bulldogs from just outside the area. The resultant kick was marvelous, somehow slipping under the crossbar and beyond the outstretched hands of the goalkeeper, tying the game in the 72nd minute.
The game remained tied through two overtime periods as the Bears withstood an onslaught of shots (13-5 advantage in the second half and overtime) while creating several opportunities for themselves. There are some possibilities here that we’ll next get to see for ourselves when the Bears return to Plaster on October 6th. They hit the road this weekend when they face Tulsa, ranked #4 in the Region, along with Oral Roberts.
Drake Bulldogs - 2
Central Arkansas - 1
The two teams remained in a scoreless tie for much of the match-up, with neither team mounting any offense in a match that saw only 13 total shots and five shots on goal. The Bulldogs (2-1) finally broke through with a goal in the 74th minute on a Luke Gorczyca goal. Only 2:16 later, Drake scored again when Kenan Malicevic scored from eight yards out to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 advantage.
The Bears (2-2) finally got on the board with 24 seconds remaining when senior Danny Foerster knocked a 20-yard shot into the left corner of the goal for his first goal of the season.
Courtesy of the UCA SID.
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