DES MOINES, Iowa ? Bradley junior forward Chris Cutshaw (Carmel, Ind./Carmel H.S.) netted his ninth goal of the season on a second half penalty kick, but host Drake scored three times in the first half and added a fourth tally in the second half to defeat the Braves, 4-1, in a Missouri Valley Conference match Wednesday night in Des Moines, Iowa.
Drake's Matt Kuhn opened the scoring in the 12th minute with his first of two goals in the match, taking a pass from Hunter Kennedy before putting a shot inside the far post from 12 yards out to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.
The Braves held the deficit at 1-0 for nearly 30 minutes, but Drake broke through to score twice in the final five minutes of the first half. Drake junior forward Garrett Webb, who entered the contest as the Bulldogs' leading scorer, recorded his fifth tally of the season, depositing a loose ball past Bradley sophomore goalkeeper Drew Van Kampen (Naperville, Ill./Waubonsie Valley H.S.) in the 41st minute for a 2-0 lead. Webb gained possession after a deep shot deflected off Van Kampen. Brian Wurst was credited with an assist on the strike.
Less than three minutes later, Drake stretched its lead to 3-0 when Kenan Malicevic notched his first goal of the season. The tally, assisted by Kuhn, came on a shot from close range. The Bulldogs took 14 shots in the first half and didn't allow a single shot attempt from the Braves.
The Braves got on the board in the 74th minute when Cutshaw connected on a penalty kick, beating Drake goalkeeper Michael Drozd for his team-high ninth goal of the season. The penalty kick was the first attempted by the Braves this season. After scoring five goals as a freshman and eight as a sophomore, Cutshaw's nine goals this season is a new single-season career-high.
Sophomore goalkeeper Jim Schultz (Kenosha, Wis./Racine St. Catherine's) saw his first career action as a Brave, manning the net during the second half. He made three saves in 45 minutes, allowing one goal. Kuhn netted his second goal of the night in the 76th minute, finishing a pass through the Bradley defense from Michael Thaden for a 4-1 lead. Drake finished the contest with a 24-6 advantage in shots.
The loss drops the Braves to 6-7-1 overall and 1-2-0 in MVC play. After dropping a 2-0 match to Creighton last Saturday, the Braves have lost back-to-back regular season league games for the first time since 2003.
Bradley will return home to Shea Stadium this Saturday to host league rival Missouri State at 7 p.m., the fourth of Bradley's five MVC games this season.
