Soccer Visits Drake for MVC Opener

Bradley Soccer will open its 31st Missouri Valley Conference season Saturday night at Drake

Bobby Parker, Sr. Associate AD for Communications and Event & Facility Operations Soccer 9/16/2021 11:57:00 AM

Bradley Soccer will open its 31st Missouri Valley Conference season Saturday night by visiting the most-played opponent in program history.

GAME PREVIEW
Bradley Braves (1-4-0, 0-0-0 MVC) at Drake Bulldogs (3-1-0, 0-0-0 MVC)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021
Time: 7:00 p.m. CT
Location: Des Moines, IA
Venue: Cownie Soccer Complex

31ST VALLEY OPENER
• Bradley will open its 31st Missouri Valley Conference regular season schedule Saturday when the Braves visit the most-common opponent in program history, Drake.
• With this past spring's "COVID" season the lone exception, the Sept. 18 kickoff at Drake will mark the earliest Valley raod game in Bradley Soccer history, three days earlier than the previous mark, Sept. 21, 2019, at Drake.
• Bradley, which is beginning league play on the road for the third consecutive season, is 10-17-3 all-time in MVC openers, including 6-10-3 in league openers played on the road.

SERIES HISTORY
49th Meeting | Drake Leads 24-19-5, 12-5-2 in Des Moines
• The most-played rivalry in Bradley Soccer history, the Braves will face Drake for the 49th time in the program's 35-year history Saturday night at Cownie Soccer Complex.
• Drake owns a 24-19-5 lead in the all-time series, which dates to Bradley's inaugural NCAA season in 1987, four years before the Missouri Valley Conference began sponsoring men's soccer.
• Drake is the only opponent Bradley has played during every season of its NCAA existence.
• The series has been marked by one-sided runs and Drake is looking to extend its current 2-game series win streak:

1987-97: Drake posted a 8-1-2 series record
1998-2007: Bradley posted an 11-2-2 series record
2008-16: Drake posted a 11-3-1 series record
2017-19: Bradley won 3-of-4 meetings
2020-21: Drake has won the last two meetings

ONE-GOAL DIFFERENTIALS
• Going back to the spring, each of Bradley's last 10 regular-season games have either been decided by one goal or ended in a draw.
• Despite scoring in eight of those 10 games, the young Braves are 1-7-2 in the current run of 1-goal decisions.
• The second-longest streak of regular-season games decided by no more than one goal in Bradley history, the 10-game stretch is the program's longest since the NCAA Tournament qualifying Braves posted a 10-4-2 record during a 16-game stretch of one-goal decisions Aug. 28-Oct. 29. 2011.

ROOKIE GOALS
• Both of Bradley's goals this past week were scored by the newest members of the Bradley roster, true freshmen Pepe Mellado (Sagunto, Spain) and Francesco Pettinaroli (Borgosesia, Italy).
• Both players joined the Braves after the start of preseason training camp after navigating international travel during these pandemic times.
• Mellado converted a penalty kick in the 88th minute Sept. 10 against DePaul for his first collegiate goal.
• Pettinaroli unleashed a one-time volley from the top of the penalty area in the 19th minute to complete a Bradley long-throw sequence to give the Braves the early 1-0 lead Sunday against Utah Valley.

LOOKING AHEAD
• The Braves will visit returning Valley member SIU Edwardsville Sept. 25, before returning home to host Loyola Chicago Sept. 29.
• Bradley will complete a 2-game home stand by hosting Missouri State Oct. 2 in the annual Bradley University Homecoming game.

FOLLOW THE BRAVES
For complete coverage of Bradley Soccer, please follow the Braves on social media at @BradleySoccer (Twitter), /BradleySoccerAlumni (Facebook) and @bradleybravessoccer (Instagram) or visit the official home of Bradley Athletics at BradleyBraves.com. To receive the latest news on Bradley Soccer directly in your inbox, sign up for eNews in the Fan Zone.

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Players Mentioned

#22 Francesco Pettinaroli: M; 6' 0"; Freshman; Borgosesia Calcio

#14 Pepe Mellado: M; 5' 8"; Junior; Benigànim

Players Mentioned

#22 Francesco Pettinaroli
: 6' 0"; Freshman; Borgosesia Calcio
: M

#14 Pepe Mellado
: 5' 8"; Junior; Benigànim
: M

Soccer Visits Drake for MVC Opener

Bradley Soccer will open its 31st Missouri Valley Conference season Saturday night at Drake

Players Mentioned

#22 Francesco Pettinaroli

#14 Pepe Mellado

Players Mentioned

#22 Francesco Pettinaroli

#14 Pepe Mellado