PEORIA, Ill - Drake rode three first-half goals in a span of 12 minutes to a 3-1 Missouri Valley Conference men's soccer victory against Bradley (5-4-1, 0-2-0 MVC), spoiling the Braves' annual Homecoming game by handing the hosts their first home loss of the season.

Drake defender Kevin Shrout assisted each of the first two goals with free kick services.  The first found Luke Gorczyca at the near post and the Drake forward flicked the ball into the back of the net with a back header for his second goal of the year 8:27 into the game. Shrout started Drake's second scoring play in the 12th minute with a free kick service from just inside midfield.  Bulldogs forward Garrett Webb collected the ball near the top of the box, maintained possession, then fed the ball back to Michael Noonan, who ripped a 30-yard laser into the top right corner.

The Bulldogs continued to apply pressure and tacked on the third goal in the 21st minute, thanks to an aggressive run down the right flank by Calvin Clark.  After making a deep run, Clark centered the ball into a crowd in front of the net.  Thomas Ostrander touched the ball to his left and Hunter Kennedy finished off the play with a simple touch into the empty left side of the Bradley goal.

Although Bradley outshot Drake 7-6 in the first half, the Braves did not get on the board until Valley scoring leader Chris Cutshaw converted a 45th minute penalty kick for his ninth tally of the season.  With his 31st career goal, Cutshaw moved into a tie for third place on Bradley's career goal-scoring list.  He also became the sixth player in Bradley history to record at least 70 career points, upping his total to 71.

The Braves, who have now dropped six consecutive Valley games dating back to last season and four of their last five games overall, will try to get back on the winning track next Saturday when they host Missouri State in a 7 p.m. game at Shea Stadium.