The Drake men’s soccer team will open exhibition play on Thursday by hosting Notre Dame. It will be a new look Drake team after losing the top four scorers from last year’s team that finished with a record of 9-9-2 and a third place finish in the Missouri Valley Conference.
Drake coach Sean Holmes says they graduate a great class and the preseason allows them to find the new guys. Two of last year’s seniors were taken in the Major League Soccer draft and Holmes says this team will need to rely on more depth to balance the freshman and sophomores.
Drake had three wins against teams ranked in the top 20 in 2005 and Holmes says a strong schedule and a tough Missouri Valley Conference awaits this team. Holmes says being able to host Notre Dame will be a good test for the Bulldogs. He says they hosted Stanford last year and hosting Notre Dame this year is a good way to show people what top notch soccer is about.