Drake Bulldogs men's soccer
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Playing in the Missouri Valley Conference[1], the Drake University Men's and play their home games inside of Drake Stadium. Drake Stadium is a landmark in intercollegiate and international track and field hosting the Drake Relays[2] every April.
The Men's team, coached by the Canadian father of three, Sean Holmes[3], is the only Division 1 men's team in the state of Iowa. Holmes is assisted by Joe Burger, who's boyish looks and memorable motivational quotes are as vital to the success of Bulldog practices as his as game-time arguments with officials and opposing coaches are to Bulldog victories.
The Bulldogs finished the 2007 season with a 9-6-4 record, including a fourth place finish in conference play [4]. Making it to the conference tournament, the Bulldogs lost to Eastern Illinois University. The team's skipper was Keith Gorzyca (Overland Park, Kansas), of the St. Thomas Aqunas pipeline. He was a hard working, ball winning, strategic minded midfielder known for his gritty challenges, charming smile and yeoman work ethic. Gorzyca's senior campaign was capped with a well deserved spot on the 2007 State Farm MVC Men's Soccer - All-Tournament Team [5]. The 2007 squad was led from the rear by 2007 MVC Men's Soccer Scholar-Athlete First Team member Phillip Breuer[6] and NSCAA/adidas Scholar All-America Second Team member Luke Frieberg [7]. Kurtis W. Larson also contributed to the Bulldog's defensive efforts, and because of the results of said efforts, Larson, with the support of Coach Holmes, has chosen to forgo his final year of eligibility to pursue professional challenges. Larson had the option to return in 2008 as a fifth year senior, which he earned his freshman year due to a medical redshirt.
In a successful attempt to one up Larson, senior R.P. "Shmoylan" Moylan has decided to extend his stay with the Bulldogs another year. Reports attribute the additional year of elibigility to improper chin up technique, while others to his love of bongos. R.P. will be supported by a strong returning junior and sophomore class, as well as the few surviving members of the class of '09.
[edit] Current Notable Players
Men's Team
R.P. "Schmoylan" Moylan (Wauwatosa, Wisconsin) Left Footed
Steven "Jups" Shondell
Jake Henneman
Luke Gorzyca
Kevin "ATM" Shrout
Calvin Clark
Garrett Webb
Julien Edwards
Mike "Mike" Drozd
[edit] Other Key Figures
Current Team
Matt "Theycallmedaddy" Kuhn
Michael "DoucheDouche" Noonan
Nick Foster
Departed Players
Douglas "Perky" Perkins
Gary Morrison
Adam "Tinkus" Winkleman
Besmir Bega
Dan Kirley
Cole Mayer
Cole Richardson
Matt Krager
Kwesi Acquah
Piotr "The Count" Jakubowski
Dan Schick
Derrick "Otter" Otteson
Erik "Handsome Erik" Sterrett
William "The Snake" Steinke
Derrick Dickman
Gustavo Morais
Chris Meshes
Reid Baker
Andrew Kewley*
Micah Chafee
Micah Nelson
Former Coaches
William "K-Murder/Koeppy" Koeppen
Christopher Adrian
Andrew Kewley
Walter Lehmann
Brian Doherty
Notable Graduates
Kurtis W. Larson (Olathe, Kansas) Defender
Keith Gorzyca (C) (Overland Park, Kansas) Midfielder
Luke Frieberg (C) (Cumming, Iowa) Sweeper
Phillip Breuer (Port Washington, WI) Goalkeeper
Justin "J-Ho" Howell
Andrew Kewley
Matt Nickell
Josh Yeretsky
Rory McCallum[8]
Ezra Hendrickson
Zach Brennan
Jess Richey
Jonathon B. Siberz
Alex Bollinger
Vincent Revak (*)
Kirk Wilson
Andrea "Andi" Schmitz
Jenny Brown
Bailey Walkup-Wilberts
Kristen Underwood
Libby Willrich
Melissa Nelson
Elise Rau
Danielle Oswald
Erin Jarvis
Sinead Brown (Toronto, Canada) Midfielder, Defender, Forward
Sarah Foote (C) (Denver, Colorado) Midfielder, Forward
Notorious Graduates
Chris Hamburger
Matt Bourne
Respectable Graduates
Adam Zenor
Corey Farabi
Matt Sahag* (Pending return to law school)
Former MLS Players
Matt Nickell
Kirk Wilson
Current MLS Players
Ezra Hendrickson
Future Players
Thomas Ostrander (Fort Dodge, Iowa)
Little Thaden
[edit] Drake Players in the PDL
A majority of the Men's team have Premier Development League (PDL) experience playing for The Kansas City Brass, Des Moines Menace, Sioux Falls Spitfire, St. Louis Lions, Kalamazoo Kingdom and the Michigan Bucks. The PDL is the premier U23 league in the United States of America with over 50 teams competing nation wide. Five players from Drake University were members of the 2005 team which won the PDL national championship in a shootout. In 2007, Drake standout Kurtis W. Larson made waves around the league when the Kansas City Brass traded the seasoned veteran to the Des Moines Menace for future considerations. Larson's ejection in the fifth game of the 2007 campaign resulted in what is rumored to be a season ending suspension, as he never took the pitch again.
