SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Western Illinois sophomore Martin Browne, Jr. scored the lone goal of the game to propel Western past Drake in the Comfort Inn/Diadora Tournament at Missouri State.

The Leathernecks (3-0-0) and Bulldogs (1-2-0) battled scoreless into the second half until Browne (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Osseo) ripped home the game winner from 10 yards out in the 70th minute. The goal came off a corner kick that ended up out of the box. Browne won the battle for the ball and then looped a shot around the goalkeeper and into the far post.

The game started off slow with only three total shots between the teams in the first half. Drake held strong on defense preventing Western from moving the ball across midfield.

"Drake had a good plan, they played low pressure the first half and really made it difficult for us," said head coach Eric Johnson of the Bulldog's approach. "I thought their game plan was spot on in terms of giving them a chance and frustrating us with what we wanted to do. There wasn't a lot of action, but it was good soccer. It was like a chess match for a while, we're holding the ball and they're holding the line."

Luke Greenwell (Quincy, Ill./Quincy) and Phil Duret (Sarasota, Fla./Cardinal Mooney) provided support on defense clearing many loose balls away from the box throughout the game. Sophomore goalkeeper Stephen Paterson (Thunder Bay, Ontario/Sir Winston Churchill) was able to handle any shots that did find their way through the defense. Paterson only ended up with two saves for the game, but impressed his coach with his efforts on the field.

"Paterson played very well tonight. He dealt with a lot of service into the box, they weren't shots but he had a lot of touches and they put him under pressure up high. They were pretty much trying to force us into a mistake in the box. Greenwell and Duret punched a lot of balls out of there. Those three dealt with the middle of the field pretty well."

Western will be back in action tomorrow night as they take on host Missouri State at 7 p.m.