Adnan Gabeljic ripped his second goal of the season to give the Billikens are a hard fought 1-0 victory.
“There is not a player in America that can contain him when he is on,” said Billikens head coach Mike McGinty when describing his sophomore forward Adnan Gabeljic.
Throughout the course of the first half, this game resembled the Bills’ previous game versus UMKC. The Billikens applied the pressure on the Louisville Cardinals defence by generating numerous scoring opportunities but just couldn’t seem to bury one of their own.
“It was a totally different game but very similar to our game against UMKC,” said coach McGinty. He also added “in the first half we need to capitalize on opportunities to take that next step.”
Alex Sweetin continued with his fine form as he set up Billikens striker Robbie Kristo with two golden chances in the first half. The first came when he dribbled the ball just outside the sixth yard box and threaded a nifty pass over to Kristo who struck the upright. The second chance came in the 34th minute when Sweetin whipped a cross on to the head of Kristo who just flicked it over the bar.
While Kristo continued to work hard and generate opportunities, his bad luck continued. In the 41st minute, Sweetin had a go on a goal but missed, leaving Kristo on the door step to knock it home. Unfortunately, it was just out of the reach of his outstretched foot. The only scare for the Bills came in the 18th minute. The Cardinals striker Dylan Mares struck one from point blank but Billikens goalkeeper Nick Shackelford was able to get his fingertips on it and deflect the ball off the crossbar. As a result, the team remained tied at the halfway point 0-0.
“We’re playing really hard and we are outplaying all of our opponents. We just need to be more clinical with our finishing,” Gabeljic said.
The second half saw the Cardinals come out of the gate with what seemed a much more of an attacking mind set. Billikens keeper was tested in the 50th minute on a drive from Cardinals Striker Dylan Mares but came up big with another well-handled stop.
In the 65th minute, the Billikens hard work had paid off. Gabejlic dazzled the crowd with a run that saw him dash two-thirds of the way up the field, blow past two Cardinals defenders, and was left with only the keeper to beat. He calmly stepped up and buried low and away into left side of the net to give the Billikens a 1-0 lead.
“That’s where I’m supposed to be. Coach told me to be confident and I did it tonight,” Gabejlic said about his goal.
The Bills’ hard work all game paid off as they push their record 3-1 on the 2012 campaign.
