St. Louis - Senior striker Dipsy Selolwane scored four goals and second-ranked Saint Louis blew past South Florida 5-1 tonight in a Conference USA men's soccer match before 2,914 fans at Robert. R. Hermann Stadium. Hermann Trophy finalist Brad Davis added a goal and an assist as the Billikens stretched their winning streak to 10.
"It was Dipsy's mental toughness that was most impressive," Billikens head coach Dan Donigan said. "He could have had four goals in the first half, he was down about it and he easily could have fallen into a mental funk. But he came out and finished three goals in the second half that were more difficult than the ones he missed in the first half."
Saint Louis stormed to a two-goal lead in the first seven minutes. In the Billikens' first foray up the field, senior midfielder David Beck made a strong run down the right side and centered a ball that Selolwane slipped inside the left post from 10 yards just 44 seconds into the match.
Davis made it a two-goal advantage in the seventh minute. Beck fired a shot that Bulls keeper Troy Perkins knocked away, but Davis drilled the rebound into the back of the net from 12 yards. USF got right back into the match in the 13th minute. Bulls midfielder Brandon Streicher fought off two Billiken defenders in the SLU penalty area and left a ball that Jeff Thwaites pounded off the arm of diving Billiken keeper John Politis and into the right corner of the net. Saint Louis carried the 2-1 advantage to halftime.
Selolwane restored the two-goal margin in the 61st minute. After Jack Jewsbury slipped a pass to Selolwane on his right, the Botswana native nimbly danced between two defenders, broke in on Perkins and beat him from six yards on a difficult angle.
Extreme patience was the key on Selolwane's third goal in the 66th minute. Off another feed from Jewsbury, Selolwane waited for the keeper to make his move and lofted a soft chip over Perkins from 10 yards. Selolwane closed the scoring in the 67th minute on a crisp 10-yard one-timer off a cross from junior midfielder Nick Walls. Selolwane's last three goals came in a span of 6:25.
Selolwane had a realistic shot at matching the Billikens' record of six goals in match set by Carl Gentile in 1963. He drilled a penalty kick off the right goalpost in the first half and hammered an 18-yard drive just over the cross bar on a perfect set-up from Davis. He finished with a season-high 11 shots.
The Billikens out-shot the Bulls 22-8, and South Florida (10-3-0, 3-2-0) had only two second half shots. Politis made four saves for the Bills, while USF's Perkins made six stops.
The Billikens' (10-0-0, 6-0-0) 10-game unbeaten streak to start the season is their best since the 1971 Billikens began with 17 consecutive wins. Saint Louis visits C-USA contender and eighth-ranked UAB on Wed., Oct. 24, before returning home to entertain Louisville on Sat., Oct. 27.
SAINT LOUIS 5, SOUTH FLORIDA 1
SLU 00:44 Dipsy Selolwane 10 yds from David Beck
SLU 6:07 Brad Davis 12 yds off rebound from Beck
USF 12:02 Jeff Thwaites 18 yds from Brandon Streicher
SLU 60:06 Selolwane 6-yd break-in from Jack Jewsbury
SLU 65:33 Selolwane 10-yd chip from Jewsbury
SLU 66:31 Selolwane 10-yd one-timer from Nick Walls
Shots: SLU-22, USF-8 Corners: SLU-4, USF-5 Saves: SLU-4 (Politis), USF-6 (Perkins) Fouls: SLU-14, USF-14 Att: 2,914
