DePaul University
2-1-4, 0-0-0
Drake
4-0-3, 0-0-0
DePaul Falls to Drake in Des Moines Saturday Night
9/13/2025 10:33:00 PM | MEN'S SOCCER
DES MOINES, IOWA – DePaul men's soccer dropped a 1-0 decision to Missouri Valley Conference favorite Drake on Saturday night at Mediacom Stadium. Despite an evenly matched contest for the majority of the competition, a turnover in possession in Drake's attacking third led to a late tally for the Bulldogs to hand the Blue Demons their first defeat of the season.
DePaul (2-1-4) led in shots for the sixth time in the first seven matches of the season with a narrow 11-9 advantage while shots on target were even at five.
The Blue Demons lost the corner kick battle for just the second time all year as Drake (4-0-3) earned four corners to DePaul's two.
Graduate midfielder Callum Watts and redshirt-junior Christian Baumgartner led DePaul with three shots apiece against the Bulldogs.
How It Happened
Drake fired off the first four shots of the contest, owning the opening 10 minutes of the non-conference tilt before sophomore forward Daniel Hickiewicz had a shot blocked off DePaul's first corner in the 11th minute.
Baumgartner notched DePaul's first quality chance of the outing with a header from the far post in the 16th minute that fell into the hands of the Drake goalkeeper.
The Bulldogs continued to press with a pair of shots on goal in a five-minute span for DePaul goalkeeper Santiago Davila to make back-to-back stops.
Neither side had a quality look on frame in the final 20 minutes of the first half as Drake held a 6-4 edge in shots through the first 45 minutes.
Out of the intermission, Watts fired three shots within a five-minute period to no avail but proved to pressure the Bulldogs back line.
Luca Iaccino and Tyler Flowers both had looks on frame but couldn't prevail as the score stood at zeroes across the board through 70 minutes of action.
Looking to press forward, DePaul's back line turned over possession to Drake for the hosts to capitalize in the 74th minute via a Crew Alvarez strike at point-blank range.
The Blue Demons were able to muster just one more chance in the remainder of the period and couldn't find an equalizer, dropping its first match of the season.
Match Notes
- Luca Iaccino made the first start of his collegiate career on Saturday night, logging 58 minutes and a pair of shots.
- Santiago Davila matched his season-high in saves with four for the second-consecutive match.
- Callum Watts led the Blue Demons with three shots, tying his career high.
- Redshirt-junior Christian Baumgarnter also matched his career-high with three shots.
- Freshman Nathan Laird logged a career-high 45 minutes against the Bulldogs.
- The Bulldogs improve to 14-6-1 all-time against DePaul including a 9-1 advantage in matches played in Des Moines.
- DePaul is now 0-1-1 in matches played against Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) teams this season.
Up Next
The Blue Demons open BIG EAST play Friday, Sept. 19 with a trip to the East Coast to take on Villanova. Kick off is set for 1 p.m. CT from Higgins Soccer Complex. The action will stream live on ESPN+.
Team Stats
Crew Alvarez (1)
Assisted By: Jonathan Mendez
GOAL by DRAKE Alvarez, Crew Assist by Mendez, Jonathan.
73:55
