Drake Bulldogs men's soccer

The Drake Bulldogs men's soccer team represent Drake University in the Missouri Valley Conference of NCAA Division I soccer.[2] The team plays its home matches at Cownie Sports Complex on the south side of Des Moines, Iowa and is coached by Scotsman Gareth Smith.[3]

Drake Bulldogs Men's Soccer
Founded1986
UniversityDrake University
Head coachGareth Smith (2nd season)
ConferenceMissouri Valley
LocationDes Moines, IA
StadiumCownie Sports Complex
(Capacity: 2,000)
NicknameBulldogs
ColorsBlue and White[1]
         
Home
Away
NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals
2009
NCAA Tournament appearances
2008, 2009, 2015
Conference Tournament championships
2009, 2015

History

The Drake program began in 1986. Under coach Bob Wood, the Bulldogs would compile a 16–16 record over two seasons as an independent before joining the Big Central Soccer Conference for the 1988 season. After a three-year run in the BCSC saw Drake post a collective 29–25–4 record (8–7–3 in conference), the Bulldogs would join their traditional sporting conference, the Missouri Valley Conference, for the 1991 season.

Upon joining the MVC, the Bulldogs went 6–10–0 (1–2–0) in 1991 season and 6–12–2 (2–2–1) in 1992. The Bulldogs would bounce back to post three consecutive winning seasons for the first time in school history from 1993 to 1995 (including a record-best 4–2–0 mark in 1994 MVC play). During his final seasons, Wood's teams totaled a combined 14–21–1 record in 1996–1997.

For the 1998 season, Drake hired Swiss-born Canadian, 32-year-old Evansville assistant Sean Holmes. In 1998, the Bulldogs earned a 6–11–1 mark. In 1999, Drake went 4–13–1 (1–5–1).

For the 2003 season, the Bulldogs moved from the larger Drake Stadium into the more-intimate off-campus Cownie Sports Complex, and Holmes began to turn the program around, guiding the Bulldogs to a 4th-place finish in the conference, good enough to host a quarterfinal match in the conference tournament. The 2003 squad achieved the first top 25 ranking in the program's history. The 2004 squad would begin the season ranked for the first time in school history, and the 2005 season saw victories over three ranked opponents, including a win over then-sixteenth-ranked Creighton for the first time in school history.[4]

In 2008, Holmes' Drake squad had a breakout season. Drake would win a school-record 13 matches (against 5 losses and 1 draw) and earned an NCAA Tournament berth for the first time. Drawn into the Queens, New York region of the bracket, the Bulldogs would battle hard at Saint Louis before falling on a goal just 4.1 seconds away from penalty kicks.[5]

The 2009 season saw Holmes' team take the program to new heights. Hosting the Missouri Valley Conference tournament after finishing second in the regular season, the Bulldogs edged third-seeded Creighton, 2–1, before defeating fourth-seeded Evansville, 2–1, to win the school's first-ever conference tournament title[6] and clinching their second consecutive College Cup appearance. In the tournament, the Bulldogs would earn their first-ever NCAA victory with a 2–1 win over Western Illinois[7] and then stunned fourth-seeded Ohio State 1–0 to advance to the Sweet 16[8] In the Sweet 16, after falling behind 2–0, the Bulldogs rallied to a stunning 6–4 win at Boston College[9] before falling in a 2–1 heartbreaker to No. 5 North Carolina in the national quarterfinals.[10]

Hours before the start of the 2015 season, Drake announced that assistant Gareth Smith would replace 17-year head coach Holmes to become interim head coach.[11] Smith was promoted to head coach after Drake finished 3rd in the MVC regular season. The 3rd seeded Bulldogs then won three consecutive matches in the conference tournament to earn the conference's automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship. In the tournament, the Bulldogs knocked of No. 17 Kentucky 2–1 in the first round before falling to former MVC member Creighton in the second round.

All-Time record

Seasons
Statistics overview
Season Coach Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Drake (Independent) (1986–1987)
1986 Bob Wood 5–10–0
1987 Bob Wood 11–6–0
Drake (Big Central Soccer Conference) (1988–1990)
1988 Bob Wood 10–7–42–2–25th
1989 Bob Wood 9–10–02–4–06th
1990 Bob Wood 10–8–44–1–13rd
Drake (Missouri Valley Conference) (1991–present)
1991 Bob Wood 6–10–01–2–0T–4th
1992 Bob Wood 6–12–22–2–14th
1993 Bob Wood 11–5–11–3–14th
1994 Bob Wood 9–8–04–2–0T–2nd
1995 Bob Wood 8–5–31–3–15th
1996 Bob Wood 6–11–02–3–04th
1997 Bob Wood 8–10–12–4–16th
1998 Sean Holmes 6–11–11–5–18th
1999 Sean Holmes 4–13–11–5–17th
2000 Sean Holmes 7–12–04–7–09th
2001 Sean Holmes 6–10–11–8–010th
2002 Sean Holmes 9–7–25–2–24th
2003 Sean Holmes 10–6–34–3–25th
2004 Sean Holmes 8–9–14–4–1T–5th
2005 Sean Holmes 9–9–24–2–1T–3rd
2006 Sean Holmes 6–7–62–1–34th
2007 Sean Holmes 9–6–42–2–24th
2008 Sean Holmes 13–5–14–1–02ndNCAA First Round
2009 Sean Holmes 16–7–26–3–12ndNCAA Elite Eight
2010 Sean Holmes 8–8–24–2–14th
2011 Sean Holmes 11–8–13–3–04th
2012 Sean Holmes 6–11–42–2–25th
2013 Sean Holmes 8–8–43–1–22nd
2014 Sean Holmes 5–11–33–3–04th
2015 Gareth Smith 12–5–33–1–23rdNCAA 2nd Round
2016 Gareth Smith 6–12–12–5–16thConference tournament
2017 Gareth Smith 6–11–22–4–26th
2018 Gareth Smith 7–7–31–3–25th
Total:271–285–72 .489

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Notable former players

The players in bold have senior international caps.

References
  1. Drake University Brand Style Guide 2020 (PDF). Retrieved April 29, 2020.
  2. "2009 Drake Men's Soccer Yearbook." Archived July 24, 2011, at the Wayback Machine godrakebulldogs.com. Retrieved on November 23, 2009.
  3. "Drake promotes Smith from interim to head men's soccer coach". The Des Moines Register. November 4, 2015. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  4. "Baker's Hat Trick Gives Men's Soccer First Win Over Creighton." godrakebulldogs.com. Retrieved on November 23, 2009.
  5. "Last Second Goal Ends Men's Soccer Season ." godrakebulldogs.com. Retrieved on November 23, 2009.
  6. "Drake bests Evansville for MVC title." Archived 2012-02-29 at the Wayback Machine timesdelphic.com. Retrieved on December 10, 2009.
  7. "Drake men beat Western Illinois in NCAA 1st round." Archived July 24, 2011, at the Wayback Machine topdrawersoccer.com. Retrieved on December 10, 2009.
  8. "Ohio State Ends Season with Overtime Loss to Drake, 1–0, in NCAA Second Round." ohiostatebuckeyes.com. Retrieved on December 10, 2009.
  9. "Drake Takes Down Boston College In 6–4 Barnburner." ncaa.com. Retrieved on December 10, 2009.
  10. "Drake's men's soccer NCAA run ends with loss to North Carolina." dmregister.com. Retrieved on December 10, 2009.
  11. "Drake changes soccer coaches hours before season opener". The Des Moines Register. November 4, 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  12. "Former Drake Soccer Player Earns Third Career MLS Championship." godrakebulldogs.com. Retrieved on November 23, 2009.
  13. "IowaSoccer" IowaSoccer.org. Retrieved on January 17, 2012.
  14. "MenaceAlumni" Archived October 5, 2009, at the Wayback Machine menacesoccer.com. Retrieved on November 23, 2009.
  15. "Guyana" kaieteurnewsonline.com. Retrieved on January 17, 2012.
  16. "bega" footballdatabase.eu. Retrieved on January 17, 2012.
  17. "Kuhn Selected By D.C. United In MLS Supplemental Draft." godrakebulldogs.com. Retrieved on January 17, 2012.
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