The Drake Bulldogs men's soccer team represent

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, law, and pharmacy. Drake's law school is among the 25 oldest in the United States. His ...

in the

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest. History The MVC was established ...

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athletic ...

soccer."2009 Drake Men's Soccer Yearbook."
''godrakebulldogs.com.'' Retrieved on November 23, 2009. The team plays its home matches at Cownie Sports Complex on the south side of

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

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

, 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 Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...

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 fourth-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."Baker's Hat Trick Gives Men's Soccer First Win Over Creighton."
''godrakebulldogs.com.'' Retrieved on November 23, 2009. 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 Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

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."Last Second Goal Ends Men's Soccer Season ."
''godrakebulldogs.com.'' Retrieved on November 23, 2009. The 2009 season saw Holmes' team take the program to new heights. Hosting the

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"Drake bests Evansville for MVC title."
''timesdelphic.com.'' Retrieved on December 10, 2009. 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"Drake men beat Western Illinois in NCAA 1st round."
''topdrawersoccer.com.'' Retrieved on December 10, 2009. and then stunned fourth-seeded

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

1–0 to advance to the Sweet 16"Ohio State Ends Season with Overtime Loss to Drake, 1–0, in NCAA Second Round."
''ohiostatebuckeyes.com.'' Retrieved on December 10, 2009. In the Sweet 16, after falling behind 2–0, the Bulldogs rallied to a stunning 6–4 win at Boston College"Drake Takes Down Boston College In 6–4 Barnburner."
''ncaa.com.'' Retrieved on December 10, 2009. before falling in a 2–1 heartbreaker to No. 5

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

in the national quarterfinals."Drake's men's soccer NCAA run ends with loss to North Carolina."
''dmregister.com.'' Retrieved on December 10, 2009. 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. Smith was promoted to head coach after Drake finished third in the MVC regular season. The third 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 The 2015 NCAA Division I men's soccer tournament (also known as the 2015 College Cup) was the 57th annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA Division I men's collegiate soccer. The first, second, third, and ...

. 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

Notable former players

The players in bold have senior international caps. *

Ezra Hendrickson Ezra Hendrickson (born 16 January 1972) is a Vincentian professional football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of Major League Soccer club Chicago Fire. Born in Layou, Hendrickson moved with his family to the United Sta ...

featured for six different Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs, was a three-time

MLS Cup The MLS Cup is the annual championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the culmination of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The game is held in November and pits the winner of the Eastern Conference Final against the winner of the Western Conferen ...

winner (2002, 2004, 2008), and earned 123 international appearances with

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines () is an island country in the Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea w ...

"Former Drake Soccer Player Earns Third Career MLS Championship."
''godrakebulldogs.com.'' Retrieved on November 23, 2009. before serving as an assistant coach with several MLS clubs *

Aaron Leventhal Aaron Leventhal is a retired American soccer player who played professionally in the USL A-League. Leventhal attended Drake University, playing on the men’s soccer team from 1992 to 1995. He is within the top ten of all Drake offensive record ...

played for the

Minnesota Thunder Minnesota Thunder was an American professional soccer team based in Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1990, the team played in the USL First Division (USL-1), the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009. The team played its home ...

of the

USL A-League The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

from 1995 to 2001"IowaSoccer"
''IowaSoccer.org.'' Retrieved on January 17, 2012. * Kirk Wilson was selected in the first round of the

1999 MLS Supplemental Draft The 1999 Major League Soccer Supplemental Draft took place in Fort Lauderdale on the afternoon of Sunday, February 7. The second and third rounds of the 1999 MLS College Draft had taken place earlier that morning. In this supplemental draft, a nu ...

and played for the

Dallas Burn Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County wi ...

of Major League Soccer and the El Paso Patriots,

Rochester Raging Rhinos Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos to ...

, and Impact de Montreal of the

and

USL First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system ...

Matt Nickell Matt Nickell (born July 11, 1983 in Waukee, Iowa) is an American soccer player, who last played forward for D.C. United in Major League Soccer. Career Nickell played college for Drake University Soccer from 2001 to 2004. In his four seasons ...

was selected in the first round of the 2005 MLS Supplemental Draft and made seven appearances with

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

from 2005 to 2006"MenaceAlumni"
''menacesoccer.com.'' Retrieved on November 23, 2009. * Jesse Baker played for the

of the

in 2006 * Corey Farabi was selected by the Kansas City Wizards in the third round of the 2006 MLS Supplemental Draft and made several reserve appearances with the club * Chris Hamburger was selected by the Kansas City Wizards in the fourth round of the 2006 MLS Supplemental Draft *

Garrett Webb Garrett may refer to: Places ;United States * Garrett, Illinois * Garrett, Indiana * Garrett, Kentucky (multiple places) ** Garrett, Floyd County, Kentucky, an unincorporated community ** Garrett, Meade County, Kentucky, an unincorporated commu ...

played for Capital City F.C. of the Canadian Soccer League in 2011. *

Julien Edwards Julien Edwards (born July 30, 1988) is a former footballer. Born in Canada, he represented the Guyana national team. Playing career Edwards began playing at the college level with Drake Bulldogs The Drake Bulldogs are the intercollegiate ...

played for Capital City F.C. of the Canadian Soccer League in 2011 and was called up by Guyana for World Cup qualifying"Guyana"
''kaieteurnewsonline.com.'' Retrieved on January 17, 2012. * Besmir Bega played for KF Tirana and

Partizani Tirana Futboll Klub Partizani, or FK Partizani for short, is an Albanian professional football club based in Tirana, that competes in the Kategoria Superiore. Founded in 1946, the club was historically affiliated to the Albanian army. Partizani's curren ...

of the Albanian Superliga in 2008–09."bega"
''footballdatabase.eu.'' Retrieved on January 17, 2012. * Matt Kuhn was selected by D.C. United in the fourth round of the

2012 MLS Supplemental Draft The 2012 MLS Supplemental Draft was a secondary Draft (sports), draft that was held by Major League Soccer via conference call on January 17, 2012. The draft was four rounds and all 19 MLS clubs participated. Changes from 2011 *As an expansion c ...

"Kuhn Selected By D.C. United In MLS Supplemental Draft."
''godrakebulldogs.com.'' Retrieved on January 17, 2012. * Darrin MacLeod currently plays for

North Carolina FC North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League One, the third tier of the American league system. The team has played its home games a ...

* Steven Enna currently plays for

FC Fredericia Fodbold Club Fredericia af 1991 (, simply known as FC Fredericia), is a professional association football club based in the town of Fredericia, Denmark, that competes in the Danish 1st Division, the second tier of the Danish football league syst ...

in Denmark

References

External links

* {{Missouri Valley Conference men's soccer navbox 1986 establishments in Iowa Association football clubs established in 1986