The fourth-ranked Saint Louis University men’s soccer team pulled out a 2-0 victory over Western Illinois on a cool, crisp Halloween night at Robert R. Hermann Stadium.
Dipsy Selolwane scored two goals and Nick Walls added two assists as the Billikens improved to 12-1 overall and 7-1 in Conference USA.
SLU jumped on the board in the 31st minute when Walls drove to the endline and dropped the ball back to Dipsy. The senior striker put it into the corner of the net with his first touch, from 18 yards out. The Bills went into halftime with a 1-0 lead.
SLU struck again in the 67th minute when Walls created the insurance goal. The junior midfielder drove to the endline and sent a cross to the right post.
Sophomore Nick Gannon deflected the ball down to Dipsy, who pounded it in from in front of the goal.
Dipsy ranks among the top five nationally with 39 points (18 goals, 3 assists). In addition, Dipsy and Brad Davis were named finalists for the Missouri Athletic Club’s national Player of the Year award.
Despite the favorable outcome, questions remain about the team heading into their stretch run.
“Right now, we’re having some problems as a team,” said coach Dan Donigan. “But I need to be critical at this point in order to achieve post-season success. We have more potential than what we’ve been showing.”
SLU’s immense talent is producing the wins, but the team is not gelling on the field. The team’s play is inconsistent, Donigan noted.
“The things we’re having problems with are easy to correct,” he said. “We just need to play simple soccer and not complicate things.”
After their hopes of an undefeated regular season were dashed with a 1-0 heartbreaking defeat to the University of Alabama-Birmingham last Wednesday, the Billikens bounced right back into their winning ways Saturday night with an impressive 2-1 victory over the Louisville Cardinals in front of a crowd of 2,450 at Hermann Stadium.
SLU jumped on the board just 20 minutes into the match when Jack Jewsbury fired in a four-footer off a Davis shot that had caromed off the goal post. Just 10 minutes later, Jewsbury and Davis worked together again. Jewsbury broke away with the ball down the sideline before centering a pass in the direction of Davis.
The ball grazed Davis, who had taken the defense with him, and landed at the foot of Dipsy who rifled in the Bills, second goal from eight yards out. The Bills’ defense remained strong through the remainder of the first half. The Cardinals turned up the heat in the second half scoring in the 61st minute of the game. But senior goalkeeper John Politis put together another strong performance and shut down Louisville’s numerous attacks on goal.
SLU will close out their home schedule this Saturday Nov. 3 when they host Conference-USA rival Marquette at Robert R. Hermann Stadium at 7 p.m. SLU will recognize the eight seniors on the squad in a ceremony before the game.
The Golden Eagles have posted an 8-5-1 season record and traditionally play the Billikens tough. SLU came away with a 1-0 victory last year in Milwaukee.
