St. Louis - Second-ranked Saint Louis rallied past Memphis 3-2 tonight in a Conference USA men's soccer match before a crowd of 4,481 at Robert R. Hermann Stadium. Senior striker Dipsy Selolwane scored in his eighth-consecutive match to provide the winner.
"This team showed me some character and mental toughness tonight after trailing at halftime," Billikens head coach Dan Donigan said. "When we came bouncing out of the lockerroom and were pumped up on the field prior to the second half, I knew we were going to be a different team."
Trailing 2-1 at the break, Saint Louis dominated the second half by out-shooting the Tigers 13-1. Hermann Trophy candidate Brad Davis knotted the game off a restart in the 52nd minute after Memphis keeper Clark Talley was called for punting the ball from beyond his own penalty area. After a quick touch by senior midfielder Mike Hill, Davis drilled a shot inside the right post.
The Billikens continued to press the attack, and Selolwane was tackled from behind in the Memphis penalty area as he attempted to run on to a through ball and break in on Talley. Selolwane went high under the cross bar on the penalty kick to put the Billikens ahead for good at 60:18.
In a 15-minute span that included Selolwane's PK and an earlier Andy Pusateri shot off the goal post, Saint Louis put on some of its prettiest soccer in some time. Hill dribbled past two Memphis defenders in the 66th minute, and his 10-yard shot was cleared off the line by the Memphis defense. Off the ensuing corner, Talley had to be alert to save Billiken forward Jack Jewsbury's deflection of Davis' corner. In the 69th minute, Davis' back heel pass put defender Jason Cole in alone on Talley, who denied Cole with a diving save. A sensational one-two combination again involving Davis put Pusateri in alone, but the sophomore midfielder shot wide in the 72nd minute. Selolwane shot high in the 74th minute, and Davis was stopped by Talley in the 76th minute.
"That 15-minute sequence was some of the best soccer we've played all season," Donigan said. "It was unfortunate that we didn't finish a couple, but we continued to play our game and be creative. Brad, Dipsy and Jackie really had it going tonight."
Memphis struck quickly at 2:59 as Tigers scoring leader Sean Fraser beat Billiken keeper John Politis on a break-in. Fraser ran on to a long ball from Memphis defender Stephen Lewis, shed a SLU defender and beat Politis from 12 yards.
Saint Louis bounced back and knotted the game at 12:48 as Jewsbury's redirection of Hill's shot eluded Talley. The Billikens seemingly had control of play, but a SLU defensive giveaway in the midfield led to the Tigers' second goal. Politis stopped Memphis midfielder Ken Matsuba's long drive, but Lars Thorstensen collected the deep rebound, stepped around a Billiken defender and found the open net from six yards at 28:11. Saint Louis had a 6-4 advantage in shots and a 4-0 advantage on corners in the first half, but trailed 2-1.
Saint Louis had a 19-5 advantage in shots for the game and a dominant 9-0 edge in corners. The Billikens also had two goals waved off on late offside calls that were questioned by the SLU bench. Politis made two saves despite yielding two goals for the first time this year. Talley made three stops, and his defense cleared a ball off its own line.
The Billikens' (8-0-0, 4-0-0) eight-game unbeaten streak to start the season matches the start of the 1983 Billikens under first-year coach Joe Clarke. Saint Louis travels to Cincinnati on Sat., Oct. 13. Memphis (2-5-2, 1-2-1) saw its two-game winning streak come to a close.
SAINT LOUIS 3, MEMPHIS 2
MEM 2:59 Sean Fraser 12-yd break-in from Stephen Lewis
SLU 12:48 Mike Hill
MEM 28:11 Lars Thorstensen 6-yd rebound from Ken Matsuba
SLU 51:29 Brad Davis 18 yds off restart from Hill
SLU 60:18 Dipsy Selolwane PK
Shots: SLU-19, MEM-5 Corners: SLU-9, MEM-0 Saves: SLU-2 (Politis-2), MEM-4 (Talley-3, Team-1) Fouls: SLU-13, MEM-17 Att: 4,481
