Valley Finale

Bradley Soccer will close out the MVC regular-season schedule Sunday at Drake

Jill Catus

Bobby Parker, Associate AD for Communications Soccer 4/4/2021 9:25:00 AM

DES MOINES - Bradley Soccer will close its Missouri Valley Conference regular-season schedule Sunday when the Braves (2-5-1, 1-5-1 MVC) visit Drake (3-2-1, 3-2-1 MVC) Sunday afternoon on the artificial football turf at Drake Stadium.

Game 9: Bradley (2-5-1, 1-5-1 MVC) at Drake (3-2-1, 3-2-1 MVC)
Date: Sunday, April 4, 2021
Time: 2:00 pm
Where: Des Moines, IA (Drake Stadium)
TV/Video Streaming: ESPN3
Audio: N/A
Live Stats: GoDrakeBulldogs.com
Tickets: Student-Athlete pass lists only

Setting the Stage
• Bradley will play its fi nal Missouri Valley Conference game of the season Sunday, when the Braves visit Drake in a contest to be played on the artificial turf of Drake Stadium.
• The Braves will be trying to halt a 5-game winless streak (0-4-1), while also looking to lock up a bid to the 4-team MVC Men's Soccer Championship.
• While Bradley finishes its league season Sunday, the other four Valley squads will play their league finales Thursday: Drake at Evansville (6 p.m.) and Loyola Chicago at Missouri State (2:00 p.m.).
• Bradley enters Sunday's game in fourth place in the MVC standings with four points, three ahead of Evansville (0-5-1 MVC), though the Purple Aces have two league games remaining.
• With a 1-0-1 season record against Evansville, Bradley owns the tiebreaker against the Purple Aces and can secure the fourth spot in the postseason tournament by winning Sunday to push its total to seven points in the MVC table.

Series History
48th Meeting • Drake leads 23-19-5 • Drake leads 11-5-2 at home
• As Bradley prepares to visit Drake Sunday, the 47 games in the series against the Bulldogs make it the most-played series in Braves Soccer history.
• Drake owns a 23-19-5 lead in the all-time series, which dates to Bradley's fi rst season as a NCAA Division I program in 1987 and the Bulldogs remain the only team Bradley has faced in each of its 34 seasons.
• The series has been marked by runs of dominance: Drake was 8-1-2 against Bradley from 1987-97, Bradley then enjoyed an 11-2-2 series record from 1998-2007, Drake responded with an 11-3-1 mark from 2008-16 and now Bradley owns 4-2-0 against the Bulldogs since the start of the 2017 season.
• In his 25th season as Bradley head coach, Jim DeRose owns an 18-17-3 record against Drake, while sixth-year Bulldogs head coach Gareth Smith is 6-4-1 in his 11 matchups against DeRose's Braves.

Recapping the Season's First Meeting
Drake 2, Bradley 0 • March 9 • Peoria, IL (Shea Stadium)
• The Bulldogs scored a pair of late goals to earn three road points when the teams met in the fi rst round of the season series March 9 at Shea Stadium.
• Cory Pitlik scored what proved to be the game-winner with a shot from 25 yards out into the side netting at 84:37.
• With Bradley pressing for the equalizer, Istvan Wilhelms scored the insurance goal on a counter aƩ ack at 88:22.
• Drake outshot the host Braves, 16-5, and Bulldogs keeper Jared Brown needed just one save to earn the shutout.

Looking Ahead
• As the only Valley team without a conference game during the final week of the regular season, Bradley could be on the hunt for one final game this week.
• Without a non-conference game, the continuance of Bradley's season will be dependent upon its outcome Sunday and possibly the results of Evansville's two remaining games if the Braves do not win Sunday.
• The semifinal round of the MVC Men's Soccer Championship is slated for Tuesday, April 13 with the final intended to be played Saturday, April 17.
• All three tourney games are to be hosted by each game's higher seeded team.

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