The tie enabled the Bulldogs (4-10-4, 1-2-2 MVC) to qualify for the tournament while sending out its quartet of seniors in Joe Lyons (West Des Moines, Iowa/Dowling Catholic), Nick Mims (Davenport, Iowa/Davenport Central), Jackson Teeling (Waukee, Iowa/Waukee) and Michael Thaden (West Des Moines, Iowa/Valley) on a positive note in their final home game.
The Purple Aces broke open a scoreless contest in the 27th minute (26:08) when Mark Gonzalez connected on his fourth goal of the year. Dylan Terry feed the ball into Gonzalez from the top of the box to earn an assist on the tally.
Netting the equalizer for Drake at the 43:27 mark with his first goal of the year was junior Brian Grand (North Branch, Minn./North Branch). Thaden delivered the ball into Grand from the corner of box to register the assist.
The Bulldogs garnered an 11-9 shot advantage in the first half led by four and three shots, respectively, courtesy of Grand and redshirt sophomore Jarred Arde (Gulfport, Miss./Gulfport).
The contest remained deadlocked at one until Drake was whistled for a foul in the box in the 69th minute (68:39) resulting in a penalty kick for Evansville. Striking the shot to give the Purple Aces a 2-1 lead was Faik Hajderovic.
Less than two minutes later at the 70:28 mark, Evansville was tagged with a foul in the box to provide the Bulldogs with a penalty-kick opportunity. Fittingly on Senior Night, it was Thaden who stepped over the ball and converted the kick to square the tilt at two.
Both sides had opportunities in the waning minutes of the second half, but neither team was able to convert. The best chance came off the foot of Grand, who's shot at the 76:46 mark was thwarted only by an Evansville team save.
The Bulldogs registered a 4-2 advantage in shots in overtime, but neither side was able to find the back of the net.
Grand paced all players with a team-high five shots, while Arde and junior Addison Eck (Springfield, Ill./Sacred Heart Griffin) added three shots apiece for Drake. Hajderovic led Evansville with a game-high six shots.
A game-best six saves from redshirt junior Rich Gallagher (Lake Bluff, Ill./Lake Forest Academy) led the Bulldogs, while Eric Teppen made five stops for the Purple Aces.
Drake closes its regular season with a 7:00 p.m. tilt at Missouri State on Friday (Nov. 2).
