After receiving a first-round bye in the NCAA Tournament, the
Saint Louis University men’s soccer team won twice in overtime
during the past week to move on to the quarterfinals of the
tournament.
The Billikens defeated the Binghamton University Bearcats 1-0 in
overtime last Wednesday night at Robert R. Hermann Stadium in a
match that was dominated by the Billikens, who held a 19-2 shot
advantage over the Bearcats.
BU, which used about 10 of its 11 on-field players throughout
the game, entered the game with the stingiest defensive unit in the
nation. They were led by sophomore keeper Stefan Gonet, who made a
career-high 10 saves.
In what would be a theme for the rest of the match, SLU
dominated possession throughout the first half, holding a 5-0 shot
advantage. Freshman forward Vedad Ibisevic had a header saved by
Gonet in the 14th minute. In the 42nd minute, freshman midfielder
John DiRaimondo sent a 30-yard free kick barely over the
crossbar.
Just as in the first half, the Billikens dominated second half
play as well and out-shot the Bearcats 10-2. SLU appeared to take a
1-0 lead in the 65th minute when freshman midfielder Alex Matteson
collected a pass from DiRaimondo and sent the ball toward the open
lower right corner of the goal. As most in attendance began to
celebrate the goal, including the SLU players, Gonet somehow
managed to deflect the ball off the post and retain possession.
“It looked like it was going in and you’re ready to celebrate,
and they knock it right off the line. It’s real frustrating,”
sophomore midfielder Cooper McKee said.
SLU’s next scoring chance came in the 75th minute when Ibisevic
dribbled past a defender before Gonet grabbed the ball off
Ibisevic’s foot as the Billikens’ leading scorer prepared to
dribble past the keeper.
As overtime began, the Billikens continued to test Gonet as
freshman midfielder Will John and Ibisevic both had shots stopped
by the Bearcat keeper in the first five minutes of the first
overtime period.
SLU finally broke through in the 96th minute when McKee fed the
ball to Ibisevic, who collected the ball near the top of the
penalty area, dribbled to his right and fired a rocket past Gonet
and into the lower right corner of the net for the golden goal.
“I feel very fortunate that we got away with this win,” coach
Dan Donigan said after the game.
With the win, the Billikens advanced to host the University of
Washington Huskies Sunday afternoon at Hermann Stadium.
The Huskies defeated the University of Portland Pilots 1-0
Wednesday to advance to play the Billikens.
The Billikens’ third-round match against the Huskies was not the
defensive battle that their game with Binghamton had been as the
Billikens won yet another overtime contest 3-2.
SLU took a 1-0 lead in the 14th minute when freshman midfielder
Brian Grazier dribbled along the end line and found Ibisevic in
front of the goal, where SLU’s leading scorer easily finished off
the goal.
UW equalized in the 23rd minute when Wiesner found Troy Ready,
the Huskies’ leading scorer, making a run down the left side of the
field on a counter attack.
Upon receiving the pass from Wiesner, Ready dribbled in a few
yards closer to the goal, then fired a left-footed shot past Hutton
and inside the right post.
McKee put the Billikens ahead 2-1 in the 36th minute. The
sophomore midfielder beat two Husky defenders and fired a shot on
goal. McKee’s shot deflected off a UW defender and headed toward
the goal, leaving keeper Danny Waltmann helpless as the ball went
into the net. The goal was McKee’s second of the season.
As the half ended, the Billikens held a 2-1 lead and also held a
11-9 advantage on shots, while the Huskies owned a 3-1 corner kick
advantage.
As the second half began, UW began to create more frequent and
dangerous scoring chances as the SLU defense was tested. The
Huskies’ efforts were finally rewarded in the 62nd minute when
Ready notched his second goal of the game to even the score. Gavin
Hobbs sent the ball into the box and forward Casey Armstrong
flicked the ball toward the goal with a header, allowing Ready to
collect the ball and volley it past Hutton for the equalizer.
As the Billikens headed to yet another overtime game, a record
breaking 11th of the season, they trailed 17-13 in shots and 8-3 in
corner kicks. Hutton collected 10 saves for SLU while Waltmann had
four for the Huskies.
SLU dominated overtime as they led 3-0 in shots. Their first
scoring chance came in the 93rd minute when freshman defender Dan
Guffey’s header off a corner kick by DiRaimondo hit the post.
Ibisevic capitalized on some defensive misfortune in the 97th
minute to pick up his second golden goal in as many games. Hobbs
attempted to clear the ball out of the zone, but his ball hit
Ibisevic and rolled toward the goal. The SLU freshman collected the
deflection and put the winner into the net to advance the Billikens
into the quarterfinals.
“It was lucky. I’m going to admit that,” Ibisevic said.
With the win, the Billikens, who are seeded seventh in the
tournament, move on to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament,
where they will play the University of Maryland Terrapins, seeded
second, in College Park, Md.
The game will take place on Saturday at noon central standard
time.
The Billikens’ 2002 season ended at the hands of the Terrapins
in College Park when they lost 1-0 in the third round of the NCAA
Tournament, so payback is on the minds of some of the
Billikens.
“I’m ready to go back there and win,” said senior defender Nick
Gannon. “Last year that’s where we lost. I’m ready to get that one
back.”
While there are some who are excited for the chance to avenge
last year’s season-ending loss, Donigan is just happy to still be
playing.
“I’m excited about going back to Maryland. I don’t care who
we’re playing. I’m just excited we’re playing,” he said.
NCAA Quarterfinals
Who: Maryland Terrapins
When: Saturday, 1 p.m. EST
Where: College Park, Maryland
