After a blowout of Cincinnati and a double overtime match against Northern Illinois, the No. 6 ranked Billikens suffered a major upset at the hands of the Evansville Aces.Evansville midfielder Mark Gonzalez scored the golden goal in double overtime to hand the Billikens their first loss of the season. The loss drops the Bills to an overall record of 3-1.
“We showed a lot of heart, character and determination today. We played with the winning mentality that we have been preaching,” said Head Coach Mike McGinty to Saint Louis Athletics after the victory against Northern Illinois.
The Billikens faced off against the Cincinnati Bearcats last Friday night and then competed against the Northern Illinois Huskies on Sunday morning.
The Bills asserted themselves in the Cincinnati game. The first of four Bills goals came when sophomore defender Julian Gieske headed in his first career goal off a Bills corner kick. Several minutes later, David Graydon tacked another goal off a free kick. In the 42nd minute, senior forward Adnan Gabeljic won the ball at midfield and charged down the field for the Bills third goal. In the second half, Francisco Vizcaino added to the scoring fest with his own header off a rebound for the Bills fourth and final goal of the game. However, the Bills next game would not be so easy.
The Northern Illinois Huskies did not go down without a long, drawn-out fight from the Bills. The teams had four shots each going into halftime, but neither side scored. The game turned in the 52nd minute when Northern Illinois’ James Stevenson received a red card which drew the Huskies side down to ten players on the field, but the Huskies keeper Andrew Galeser was having “a hell of a game” which included six saves.
The game stretched into overtime, but one frame was not enough to decide the match. The game went into a second overtime, and in the 105th minute, the Bills finally broke through. Alex Sweetin sent a ball to Robert Kristo who tapped it over to junior Kingsley Bryce who tapped it in for the golden goal and Bills victory.
“Kingsley got a goal just before the end of the second overtime,” said senior goalkeeper Nick Shackelford. “We literally all just fell to the ground in exhaustion and gratitude.”
After a loss to Evansville on Wednesday, the Bills will return home for their next home match against the University of Denver. The Denver Pioneers were one of five teams that beat the Bills last season. They defeated the Bills at Denver in overtime 2-1 on a golden goal by Denver’s Ryan Dodson.
After four games this season, the Pioneers are led in scoring by senior midfielder Cole Chapleski who has two goals and one assist so far this season.
Also, the man who handed the Bills one of their losses last season, Dodson, will be on the field for this game. In four games this season, Dodson has just one assist.
After the game against the University of Denver, the Bills will head back on the road to take on their first major challenge this season playing the No. 3 Connecticut Huskies.
The game against the University of Denver will be played at Hermann Stadium on Saturday, September. 14 at 7 p.m. central time.
