Valley Opener at Drake

Bradley Soccer will open the 2019 Missouri Valley Conference season Saturday night at Drake

Bobby Parker, Associate AD for Communications Soccer 9/20/2019 8:16:00 AM

WEST DES MOINES, IA – Bradley Soccer will open its 2019 Missouri Valley Conference schedule Saturday night when the Braves visit its oldest and most-common rival, Drake, at Valley Stadium. For fans traveling to Saturday's game, the location has been moved late this week to Valley Stadium in West Des Moines.

GAME DAY DETAILS
Bradley (1-2-2, 0-0-0 MVC) at Drake (3-3-0, 0-0-0 MVC)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 21, 2019
Time: 6:00 p.m. CT
Location: West Des Moines, IA | Valley Stadium
Tickets: Free admission
TV: The Valley on ESPN | ESPN3
Live Stats: godrakebulldogs.com/sidearmstats/msoc

OPENING KICKS

Bradley will play the middle game in its first of three, 3-game road trips this season when the Braves visit Missouri Valley Conference rival Drake Saturday night at the Cownie Soccer Complex.
Saturday's game will be the Missouri Valley Conference opener for both teams.
Bradley and Drake join Missouri State as original members of the MVC men's soccer membership, which dates to the 1991 season, making Saturday's game the 29th Valley opener for both the Braves and Bulldogs.
The Braves will be looking to snap a two-game losing streak against a Drake squad that enters Saturday's game riding a two-game winning streak..

DOUBLE ROUND ROBIN

Bradley and Drake will see each other again in just two weeks when the Bulldogs visit Peoria Oct. 5 for Bradley University's annual Homecoming match.
The return trip is part of the Missouri Valley Conference's new double, round-robin league schedule format.
Each of the league's six men's soccer members will play a home-and-home series against one another, creating a 10-game regular-season conference table.
The 2009 season is the only other year in Valley men's soccer history to feature a full, double round-robin schedule format.

ROAD WARRIORS
•   Since opening the season with a 4-game home stand, Bradley now has started a stretch that will see the Braves play 9-of-13-games on the road.
•   Saturday's game at Drake is the second in Bradley's first of three, 3-game road trips of the season.
•   Following Saturday's game, the Braves will visit Loyola Chicago Wednesday night.
•   The Braves also will face 3-game road swings Oct. 9-15 and Oct. 27-Nov. 4.
•   Bradley has not played as many as nine regular-season road games since 2013 (5-2-2 regular-season road record, followed by a 1-1-0 record in two NCAA Tournament matches).
•   In fact, each of the last three seasons Bradley has played as many as nine regular-season road games, the Braves have gone on to reach the NCAA Tournament.
•   The 2019 season marks the seventh in Jim DeRose's 24 years as Bradley head coach the Braves have been challenged by at least nine regular-season road games.
•   While DeRose's first squad in 1996 posted a 3-7-0 record in its 10 road games, his five teams from 2000-13 to go on the road at least nine times combined for a 26-14-7 (.628) road record and four NCAA Tournament appearances in those seasons.

SERIES HISTORY
45th Meeting • Drake leads 21-18-5 • Drake leads 10-5-2 in Des Moines • Drake leads 14-11-4 in MVC regular-season

Saturday's meeting will be the 45th meeting in the all-time men's soccer series between Bradley and Drake, making it the most-played series in Braves history.
The series dates back to Bradley's first season as a NCAA Division I program and the two teams have met in every year of Bradley's 33 seasons.
For just the second time in series history, Bradley is playing consecutive road games at Drake (the Braves earned a 2-1 road win at Drake in the 2002 MVC Tournament, then dropped a 4-1 decision at Drake in the 2003 regular season).
The Braves earned a 1-0 win at Drake Oct. 20, 2018 for their third consecutive series win against the Bulldogs.
Bradley's current, 3-game series win streak is its third-longest against Drake and marks its first winning streak against the Bulldogs since taking five straight in the series from 2003-05

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