Peoria, IL -- The Bradley Braves battled back against the DePaul Blue Demons to earn a 2-2 draw.
The Bradley Braves welcomed the DePaul Blue Demons to Shea Stadium for a non-conference clash before returning to Missouri Valley Conference play. Entering the night, the Braves held a 2-0-2 record at Shea Stadium and were looking to remain unbeaten at home. Meanwhile, the DePaul Blue Demons were searching for their first outright road win of the season.
As the match began, the Blue Demons got off to a hot start, manufacturing four shots in the opening 20 minutes—two of which were on goal—forcing Bradley keeper Drew Berry into early action. As the pressure mounted, DePaul broke through in the 22nd minute when Joon Han found the back of the net from beyond the 18-yard box with an unassisted strike. The goal only energized the visitors further. While the Braves tried to respond, DePaul added a second goal in the first half, courtesy of Jordan Claggette—the first of his college career.
However, all was not lost for the Braves. After all, a great comeback has to start with a deficit. Bradley made a fre personel moves between the 20 and 30-minute marks, and they quickly paid off. Shortly after earning a free kick, the Braves found the spark they needed to get back into the match. Freshman Connor Chester found just enough space to slot home his second goal of the season, assisted by Anel Kafedzic.
The half ended with DePaul leading 2-1, but the Braves had seized some much-needed momentum.
In the second half both teams would swap brief turns in possession before
Connor Chester put yet another mark on the match, collecting his second goal of the night in 56' and leveling the match at 2-2 capping off the build up play from Crovo, Fowlkes, and Hjorvarsson.
As the match wore on both teams were able to build a handful of more chances on goal in the remaining 30+ minutes with a total of eight shots, four by each side. However neither team was able to find that final strike of the ball to steal a win. The Braves recorded their 5th draw of the season and move to 2-4-5 overall while the Blue Demons move to 2-4-6.The Braves will be back in action this weekend when they hit the road to take on the Bowling Green Falcons on Friday at 6:00 p.m. from Cochran Stadium in Bowling Green. OH. The match will be available for streaming on Youtube.
