Drake soccer uses barrage of second half goals to down Novato

The Pirates stormed back after being down 1-0 at the half to sink Novato with three second-half goals.

Forward Ben Judkins, who scored a pair of goals, including the game winner, carried Drake's offense. In the 71st minute, Judkins snuck around Novato defenders along the sideline and slipped a well-placed shot past the goalie giving Drake their first lead at 2-1.

In the 81 minute, Judkins tacked on Drake's third point, an insurance goal, on a beautiful pass from Mike Heffernan. The goal, coming with only nine minutes remaining in the contest, put Drake out of reach of the wilting Hornets.

The game started with Novato jumping on the Pirates early with a breakaway goal scored by Novato junior Carlos Pecanha. Pencanha showed lightening speed and nifty ball-handling to get past the Drake defense and dribble around the goalkeeper, before putting the ball in the back of the net.

Drake was able to make adjustments to Novato's pressing style of play at halftime to shift the momentum.

Pirate Julian Ruzzier-Gaul scored the first goal of the second half (56') and the Pirates never looked back, winning 3-1.

The Pirates improved their record to (6-3-3, 2-0-2) while Novato continues to struggle dropping their record to (0-6-2, 0-3-1).

Up Next: Drake will jump on the bus to Napa for a match under the lights with Justin Siena, next Wednesday at 6 p.m.