Semifinal #2 ? Friday, Nov. 11, 2005 ? 7:30 p.m. ? Peoria, Ill. ? Shea Stadium
(1) #17 Bradley Braves (14-4-1, 5-1-1 MVC)
vs.
(4) Drake Bulldogs (9-8-2, 4-2-1 MVC)
Television: None
Live Audio: www.bubraves.com
Archived Video: www.bubraves.com (available approximately one hour after the completion of the game)
Bradley Wins MVC Title
? Riding a six-game overall winning streak, which included four straight Valley wins, Bradley won its second Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championship with a 5-1-1 league record.
? Bradley won its only other Valley regular-season championship in 1998.
? The 1998 Braves also received a quarterfinal bye in the postseason tournament hosted by Missouri State, then lost in the semifinals to the host Bears, 1-0.
Braves & Bulldogs, Again
? The State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament is underway, which means it must be time for Bradley and Drake to meet in the postseason.
? The Braves and Bulldogs will meet in the MVC Tournament for the fourth consecutive year in Friday's second semifinal game at Shea Stadium.
? Each of the three previous postseason meetings have occurred in the quarterfinals and all resulted in Bradley wins: 2-1 in 2002 in Des Moines, 3-1 in 2003 at Shea Stadium and 3-1 last season at Shea Stadium.
? Overall, Bradley has won four straight in the series, including a 2-1 victory Oct. 12 at Shea Stadium.
Drake's Second Home
? Drake may want to begin considering Bradley's Shea Stadium its second home field.
? Shea Stadium is only three years old, but Drake will be playing its eighth game at Bradley's new home stadium Friday night.
? The Bulldogs, who won the 2004 Bradley Classic, are now 3-0 in neutral-site games at Shea Stadium.
? Drake is 0-4, however, against the Braves at Shea Stadium.
No Stranger to Semis
? Bradley is making its eighth consecutive appearance in the semifinal round of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
? The streak of eight straight semifinal appearances is the longest active streak in the Valley and the second-longest in the history of the tournament.
? Creighton reached at least the MVC Tournament semifinals in 12 consecutive years from 1991 to 2002.
But NO Tourney Titles, Yet
? Despite its ability to reach the MVC Tournament semifinals, Bradley is still in search of its first postseason championship.
? The Braves reached the title game in 1999 as the host school at Chiefs Club Field, as well as the championship games at SportPort in 2000, 2002 and 2003.
Head Coach Jim DeRose
? Jim DeRose (Johnson State ?89) is in his 10th year as the head coach at Bradley, which remains his first head coaching position.
? DeRose boasts a 118-69-17 (.620) career record, including a 41-31-8 (.563) mark in MVC games.
? DeRose's victory total accounts for 69.8 percent of Bradley's 169 wins in the 19-year history of the program and he owns all but three of Bradley's all-time Valley wins (44-55-9).
8,000-Minute Man
? With a little more than 1,737 minutes in the books this season, Bradley senior goalkeeper Chris Dunsheath should become the fifth player in NCAA Division I history to log at least 8,000 career minutes Friday night versus Drake.
? Dunsheath, who has played all but 15-minutes, 55-seconds of Bradley's time since the start of the 2002 season, currently stands in seventh place in NCAA Division I history with 7926:32 of goalkeeper time.
? Dunsheath has an outside shot at the NCAA record for goalkeeper time (8306 minutes), but the Braves will need to advance deep into the NCAA Tournament as he still needs to play a little more than four regulation games.
Dunsheath's Records
? In addition to Dunsheath's pursuit of the NCAA record for minutes played, Bradley's preseason All-American already owns the Valley career records for shutouts (26.5) and minutes, as well as the majority of Bradley's single-season and career keeper records (see lists to the right).
? Dunsheath, who has broken his own single-season school record with 10.0 shutouts this season, needs two more to tie the Valley single-season record set by SMU's Byron Foss in 2001.
Senior-Itis
? Bradley's 30-man roster features 12 seniors who have combined for 706 individual games played for the Braves and 788 career college games.
? Bradley's starting lineup in this year's regular-season meeting Oct. 12 versus Drake included seven seniors and three more came of the bench for substantial time.
? Senior defenders Adam Hage and Jeff Kellogg scored Bradley's goals in the first meeting, which were assisted by seniors Salim Bullen and Steve Chromik.
