It was the penultimate setting: second overtime-fatigue, stress, emotion. And facing the third-ranked team in the country nearly 1000 miles from home requires character.
Deep in St. John’s territory, Jackie Jewsbury held onto the ball, just waiting. Waiting. The sophomore forward fended off the opposing defender and dropped the ball back to Nick Walls. On came Brad Davis, who took the pass from Walls and. . .
The Saint Louis University men’s soccer team defeated a strong Rutgers squad 2-1 in overtime Friday night. Sunday, however, was judgment day.
. . .Goal! In the 109th minute of sudden-death overtime, it was all over. Davis’ left-footed shot from the top of the penalty box connected, to send the Billikens to a battle-tested 1-0 victory over St. John’s. That’s character.
With these two, straight overtime heroics, SLU prevailed to win the Philips Lighting/adidas Soccer Classic this past weekend in Piscataway, NJ. The Billikens improved to 7-2-1 overall and 2-0-0 in Conference USA. They rose to number 15 in the NSCAA poll, while extending their winning streak to four.
“It was a great weekend,” said SLU Coach Bob Warming.
“When you play teams of that caliber, you better play well.”
Rutgers, who hosted the Classic, stunned SLU in the 21st minute, notching the game’s first goal. SLU responded with poise, tallying the equalizer five minutes later. Brian Hadican made a great near post run and connected off a David Beck cross from the right side.
Jason Cole made his second straight start at forward, but with 28 minutes remaining moved back to the defensive position he anchored last year.
The move paid dividends, as the heated contest remained tied 1-1 at the end of regulation. The two teams went into a sudden-death, Golden Goal overtime.
Eight minutes into the period, SLU finally connected. Vedad Alagic played a 40-yard pass to the left corner of the field. Brad Davis ran the ball down and crossed to Jewsbury, whose diving header from six yards out left the Scarlet Knights in shock.
Saturday, Warming’s squad toured the Big Apple. They had the chance to visit the Statue of Liberty and Times Square.
Sunday was game day, all business. John Politis made the start in goal. The junior grew up 15 minutes away from St. John’s in Rosyln, NY.
He also was heavily recruited by the Red Storm. Politis wouldn’t disappoint, as he posted his third consecutive shutout. He also was named C-USA Defensive Player of the Week for holding Depaul and the University of Alabama-Birmingham scoreless.
The game was a battle, all 90 minutes. Windy conditions affected the tempo of the game. St. John’s had the wind at their back in the first half, so it’s no surprise why they got five shots off.
SLU’s defense played tough against Rutgers, but on Sunday they showed their true grit. SLU was able to withstand St. John’s for the first 45 minutes, keeping the score 0-0 heading into the second half.
At halftime, SLU made adjustments.
“We changed our offensive strategy to gain more scoring opportunities,” said Jewsbury.
“The second half, we matched their intensity, which allowed us more opportunities for us to control the game.”
The Billikens should have put the game away in regulation, but they failed to score on four or five good chances in the second half. The first overtime came and went without a goal.
Then it happened. Davis’ shot to the left, lower corner ended St. John’s hopes and began SLU’s melee. It was his sixth goal of the year, second only to Jewsbury’s nine.
Davis was named the Most Valuable Offensive Player for the weekend, and Mike Hill, Joe Hammes and Marty Tappel also made the All-Tournament team.
SLU heads to Louisville(8-5-0, 1-1-0) this weekend to take on a veteran Cardinals team. The Billikens return home next Wednesday, Oct. 18 to take on Cincinnati.
