In August, the Drake men’s soccer team began its journey with one thing in mind — making it past the first round of the NCAA tourna­ment. Some of those days started early in the morning with workouts and went late into the night with practice, and each day put them one step closer to their target.

On Thursday night, the Bulldogs ac­complished this feat and, on Sunday, the team surpassed its goal and brought the Drake men’s soccer program into un­charted territory, as the Bulldogs shocked No. 13 Ohio State on its own field to pro­pel Drake into the Sweet Sixteen.

The Bulldogs and the Buckeyes played to a 0-0 draw after 90 minutes of regula­tion ended before a golden-goal header from senior midfielder Luke Gorczyca gave Drake an overtime win in Colum­bus, Ohio.

“That was our first overtime win of the season and it came at the perfect time,” junior midfielder Matt Kuhn said. “I’m just happy to be playing another game.”

Head Coach Sean Holmes said that the win was made possible by the team’s senior leadership keeping the team’s nerves from affecting its play.

“We haven’t been unsettled by any­one we’ve played all year,” Holmes said. “We’ve been through it all before, and that experience helps our team handle these situations. Losing to St. Louis last year gave us the necessary confidence to win today.

Gorczyca’s goal came nearly seven minutes into the decisive overtime period when sophomore midfielder Thomas Ostrander sent a long ball into the box. In the midst of a scramble for the ball, Gorczyca managed to put his head on the ball to push it past Ohio State goalkeeper Matt Lampson.

Just two days before defeating Ohio State, Drake earned the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament win with a 2-1 victory over Western Illinois on Thurs­day at the Cownie Soccer Complex. The Bulldogs set the tone from the opening kickoff, scoring two goals in the first eight minutes of play.

The team converted its first two shots of the game into two goals. In the third minute of the game, senior midfielder Kevin Shrout scored off a Brian Wurst cross. The second goal was headed in minutes later, this time, by Missouri Val­ley Conference MVP Garrett Webb.

Drake led the whole game, allowing only a goal from a penalty kick in the 78 minutes of play from the Leathernecks. The win places the team among the top 32 teams in the NCAA tournament.

With six starting seniors on the team, Holmes credits the upperclassmen with a large portion of his team’s success.

“They are winners, but they are the kind of guys that do it in the right way,” Holmes said. “They are good students and good people; they really are the com­plete package. They love their sport and they love their teammates.”

Gorczyca said he attributes the team’s achievements to all the hard work they have put in throughout their soccer ca­reers.

“All of the tournaments and games we have had in our younger days has pre­pared us for this opportunity,” Gorczyca said. “It is a dream to play in the NCAA Tournament, and it is nice to think that hard work can get you to where you want to be.”

Gorczyca’s hard work included setting a school record. His 80th appearance against Ohio State Sunday set Drake’s new record for career games played.

Although the Bulldogs are enjoy­ing an unprecedented run through the NCAA tournament, the season was far from smooth sailing for Drake. The team suffered key losses in MVC play, but has rebounded stronger than ever, proving the team’s ability to concentrate on the task at hand.

“I am extremely proud of how we recovered from the couple hiccups we had in the middle of the season,” Hol­mes said. “We could have really gotten derailed at that point, but we stayed fo­cused probably because nobody pushed the panic button.”

Kuhn said there was never any doubt in his mind that they would make it past the first round of the tournament.

“We had patches where we weren’t getting exactly what we wanted, but it slowly came back and now we’re really on a roll,” Kuhn said. “Our high expec­tations haven’t brought us down yet.”

Drake’s win over Ohio State put them into the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament, where they will face the win­ner of Sunday night’s matchup between Boston College and St. John’s. Drake will travel to play the winner in a Thanksgiv­ing Day matchup.

Although the team has already reached unprecedented heights, Holmes said he and the team are not satisfied with beating the Buckeyes.

“We celebrated today with a great meal at Wendy’s,” Holmes said. “We’re not really celebrating because there’s a sense that there’s more to come. You cele­brate when everything’s over and we have a game yet ahead of us and are still work­ing toward our ultimate goal—to make a trip to the Final Four in North Carolina and win a national championship.”