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Soccer Drops Valley Opener at Drake, 2-1

DES MOINES, IA – Bradley Soccer's run of close calls continued in its Missouri Valley Conference opener Saturday night. The Braves (1-5-0, 0-1-0 MVC) dropped a 2-1 decision at Drake (4-1-0, 1-0-0 MVC) at Cownie Soccer Complex.

Each of Bradley's last 11 regular-season games have been decided by no more than one goal, but the youthful Braves fell to 1-8-2 in those close decisions. The streak of 1-goal decisions is the second-longest in program history, trailing only a 16-game streak during the 2011 NCAA Tournament season.

After Drake built a 2-0 lead by scoring in the final 40 seconds of the first half and on a 67th minute penalty kick, Bradley set the final score when freshman Pepe Mellado converted his second PK of the season to complete the game's 85th minute.