LIBERTY, Mo. – No. 8 Drury men's soccer scored in the final two minutes to defeat William Jewell 1-0 and clinch a berth in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Tournament on Wednesday night.
The Panthers were kept quiet in the first half, as William Jewell recorded the first shot of the match in the 10th minute, forcing
Ben Barnett to make an early save. Drury's only shot of the half came from
Mason Platts, whose attempt went off target. The Cardinals created another opportunity in the 31st minute when a shot from Daniel Pirillo struck the post. William Jewell registered another shot in the 33rd minute, but neither team could break through before halftime.
The Cardinals opened the second half with a shot from Mathew Drinkhouse, but Barnett was there to make the save.
Sam Tagg and
Steen Voller got the Panthers going with shots in the 51st and 56th minutes. The Panthers kept pressing, as
Lui Bull forced two saves from the Cardinals' goalkeeper in the 64th and 69th minutes. Drury continued to apply pressure, forcing four more saves from the William Jewell goalkeeper over the next six minutes.
With time winding down, the match remained scoreless. William Jewell had a chance in the 86th minute but could not convert.
Caua Nascimento nearly scored against his former team a minute later, but his attempt missed just left of the goal. Drury finally broke through in the 88th minute when Tagg collected the ball just outside the box and sent a cross to
David Huang, who got just enough on it to find the back of the net and give the Panthers a 1-0 lead. Barnett made one final save in the 90th minute to seal the 1-0 road win over William Jewell.
HIGHLIGHTS
- No. 8 Drury improves to 10-2-2 overall and 8-1-2 in GLVC play.
- Drury clinches a berth in the 2026 GLVC Tournament with three conference matches remaining.
- The Panthers remain atop the GLVC standings with 26 points.
- Drury's 10-2-2 start remains its best in a decade.
- Wednesday's win marks Drury's 10th victory and eighth conference win of the season, both the most under head coach Ben Taylor.
- Drury improves to 7-1 on the road this season, recording its most away wins since 2013, when the Panthers finished 8-3 away from home.
- Drury's seven road victories are one shy of matching the program's single-season record of eight, achieved in 2009, 2010 and 2013.
- The Panthers extend their unbeaten streak to four matches (3-0-1).
- Drury records four consecutive shutouts for the first time since 2016.
- Ben Barnett records his seventh shutout of the season, tying Blake Andrews (2013) and Logan Hoffman (2008) for the third-most in a single season in program history.
- Barnett lowers his goals-against average to 0.47, putting him on pace to break Stephen Conner's single-season program record of 0.50, set in 2009.
- David Huang scores his third goal of the season.
- Sam Tagg records his third assist of the season.
- Drury outshot William Jewell 12-8, including a 7-3 advantage in shots on goal.
- The Panthers recorded 11 of their 12 shots in the second half.
UP NEXT
No. 8 Drury returns to Springfield to face third-place Maryville on Saturday, Oct. 17.
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