It had been 486 days since the last time the Bradley Braves soccer team played a game at Shea Stadium. On Tuesday, the warm temperatures made for a great return.
In a homecoming of sorts, the Braves lost to Missouri Valley Conference foe Drake 2-0. The loss moves the Braves to an even 2-2 on the year.
The majority of the game was a battle at the midfield, with both teams struggling to find opportunities in the first half. Drake led the way with four shots in the first 45 minutes, while Bradley only had two.
While both teams fought for possession at the midfield, Bradley managed to break away into their attacking third in both halves of the game. However, head coach Jim DeRose explains the team wasn’t able to finish.
“You saw some maturity in [Drake],” DeRose said. “We had the ball in critical areas; we did a lot to get it wide. It’s just in the end we didn’t get much production.”
Action picked up in the second half for Drake, as it managed 12 shots, netting two of them in the last six minutes of the game.
The first goal came at the hands of Drake’s Cory Pitlik from well outside the penalty box. On the other hand, the second goal was a bit more unlucky according to DeRose, as it came from a counterattack.
“The second goal is irrelevant,” DeRose said. “We gave up a bum of a goal, I don’t think our team will ever lack the fitness. It’s a little bit of inexperience. That game could have gone to overtime.”
Despite the loss, DeRose was excited to be playing under the lights of Shea Stadium with perfect soccer weather once again.
“I’m tired of training on turf and I’m tired of playing on football fields,” DeRose said. “It’s great to get on a grass soccer field, it was great to have fans here and it was great to just make it feel normal.”
Looking ahead, the Braves head to Chicago for a matinee game against the 2019 MVC tournament champions, the Loyola Ramblers, on Sunday.
DeRose already knows the young team will need to work on its defensive strength while focusing on improving offensive productivity.
“We need to continue to work really hard defensively,” DeRose said. “[But] it’s going to take something in the final third.”
