Familiar faces
'Necks look to avenge their loss to Drake in first round of the College Cup
Mike Vaught
Issue date: 11/18/09 Section: Sports
hampionship firmly under their belts, the Western Illinois men's soccer team will travel to Des Moines, Iowa to battle Drake in the first round of the College Cup.
"We're pretty excited about the chance to keep playing," said head coach Eric Johnson.
The Leathernecks (8-9-2, 3-2-1 Summit League) and Bulldogs (13-6-2, 6-3-1 Missouri Valley) are no strangers and have faced each other in the previous five seasons with the 'Necks taking three-of-five.
"We're going to a field that we've played on before," Johnson said. "We know Des Moines and we know Drake. It's not going to wow anyone. It's not like the year we went to Notre Dame with the mystique of Notre Dame."
However, the Bulldogs got the better of Western this season, winning their prior match by a score of 1-0.
"We played Drake pretty tough," Johnson said. "The first game was pretty even if you look at the stats. We've shown that we're right there, and we had a few chances but couldn't score."
Drake clinched an automatic berth by winning the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament and finished the season ranked 24th in the nation.
This will be the 'Necks' fourth trip to the NCAA tournament in six years and their first since being defeated by University of Illinois-Chicago in the first round of the 2006 tournament.
"This team is different from those three teams," Johnson said. "They all have different personalities. Just like those teams when you're practicing and you know the next game is in the tournament it's fun. They had good energy, and we had good energy today."
Senior goalie Stephen Paterson has emerged as more of a team captain after leading the 'Necks to four wins in their previous five matches.
"He's always been in the position but because of his play of late it probably just makes it even more special," Johnson said. "He's on his game right now. He had a slow start, but that wasn't so much because of him, it was because we were just not very good."
"We're pretty excited about the chance to keep playing," said head coach Eric Johnson.
The Leathernecks (8-9-2, 3-2-1 Summit League) and Bulldogs (13-6-2, 6-3-1 Missouri Valley) are no strangers and have faced each other in the previous five seasons with the 'Necks taking three-of-five.
"We're going to a field that we've played on before," Johnson said. "We know Des Moines and we know Drake. It's not going to wow anyone. It's not like the year we went to Notre Dame with the mystique of Notre Dame."
However, the Bulldogs got the better of Western this season, winning their prior match by a score of 1-0.
"We played Drake pretty tough," Johnson said. "The first game was pretty even if you look at the stats. We've shown that we're right there, and we had a few chances but couldn't score."
Drake clinched an automatic berth by winning the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament and finished the season ranked 24th in the nation.
This will be the 'Necks' fourth trip to the NCAA tournament in six years and their first since being defeated by University of Illinois-Chicago in the first round of the 2006 tournament.
"This team is different from those three teams," Johnson said. "They all have different personalities. Just like those teams when you're practicing and you know the next game is in the tournament it's fun. They had good energy, and we had good energy today."
Senior goalie Stephen Paterson has emerged as more of a team captain after leading the 'Necks to four wins in their previous five matches.
"He's always been in the position but because of his play of late it probably just makes it even more special," Johnson said. "He's on his game right now. He had a slow start, but that wasn't so much because of him, it was because we were just not very good."
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