The men’s soccer team, ranked eighth in the nation, is 2-0 after its first week of exhibition play.
The Billikens defeated DePaul 1-0 on Aug. 20, and Memphis 2-0 on Saturday, Aug. 23.
In the first game against DePaul, senior midfielder Dado Hamzagic scored the game’s lone goal early in the second half.
Head coach Dan Donigan said the game was a great chance to evaluate the team in the early stages of the season.
“I give DePaul credit, because they really challenged us in the first half,” Donigan said. “At halftime, we corrected a few things, and that led to us getting better possession and better opportunities.”
Between the two games, the coaching staff had a chance to correct mistakes from the first match by clarifying the players’ roles in their respective positions.
The focus heading into the Bills’ next match against Memphis was defense. By correcting aspects of defense, the team was able to generate more offensive production in its second match-up.
“We have really been working on structure,” junior Kyle Hayes said. “First and foremost is defense, but then better defensive organization will lead to a better attack and more goals.”
At the core of the Bills’ defense is the goalkeeper. From senior keeper Pat Disbennett’s perspective, the team controlled the pace and the ball for most of the game against Memphis.
“A lot of defense involves moving as a unit,” Disbennett said. “We’re still not 100 percent, but we’re progressing; the game against Memphis was definitely better than the DePaul match.”
Although Memphis is not a top-ranked team, Disbennett and Hayes both said the team takes the same approach to a game whether it’s the No. 1 team or a lesser opponent, and that no game is easy at the Division-I level.
In the two home games combined, the Billikens out-shot their opponents by a combined 35-13 margin.
The opposition managed only three shots on goals in the two games, all of which came in the first half of play, and three corner kicks in the 180 minutes of action.
“I am happy where we are, and now it is a matter of continuing to build our fitness base,” Donigan said.
After a pair of victories at home this past week, the Billikens will officially get the 2008 campaign started this weekend when it travels to Los Angeles to compete in the Loyola Marymount University Fall Classic.
The Bills open the tournament against San Diego on Friday, Aug. 29, followed by a match on Sunday, Aug. 30 against host LMU.
