TAMPA - Top-seeded Saint Louis routed Charlotte 4-1 tonight in the semifinal round of the Conference USA men's soccer tournament at South Florida's Soccer Stadium. The Billikens advance to the championship match on Sunday at noon (CT) against Marquette. National player of the year candidates Dipsy Selolwane and Brad Davis each contributed four points to the victory.
"With Charlotte having played 120 minutes last night, we wanted to move the ball and make them chase and recover," Billikens head coach Dan Donigan said. "We took a lot out of them in the first half."
Billiken junior defender Brad Davis drove a hard 20-yard shot at 49ers keeper Lucas Mackanos, who dived to his right to make the save but couldn't control the rebound. Kirchhoff calmly knocked in the loose ball from six yards.
Saint Louis dominated the remainder of the half but couldn't add to its lead. The Billikens had a goal disallowed in the 36th minute on an offside call. Saint Louis out-shot the 49ers 10-0 in the first half and had a 3-1 edge in corner kicks.
Charlotte started more aggressively in the seocond half and got its first shot away in the 49th minute. SLU senior keeper John Politis easily handled a deflected 20-yard drive by Juan Munoz-Airey. Politis was tested seriously only twice. He made a diving save on 49ers midfielder Chris Wargin in the 60th minute, and leaped to punch defender David McGill's drive over the cross bar in the 80th minute.
C-USA Player of the Year Dipsy Selolwane netted his 21st goal of the season at 53:43 to provide a two-goal margin. Selolwane converted Davis' centering pass from seven yards at the right post as Mackanos was caught in between the two players.
The Billikens scored twice within 50 seconds to put the game away. Selolwane drilled his second goal of the night on a slick combination passing sequence inside the 49ers' area. At the near post, Mike Hill sent a centering pass to Nick Walls, who waited for the defense to collapse around him. Walls slid a pass to Selolowane to his right, and the senior striker drilled it inside the right post from 10 yards at 69:09.
After being disappointed when his 14-yard laser rammed off the crossbar in the 71st minute, Davis capped his four-point night with a goal at 70:21. Operating at the near post, senior midfielder David Beck dropped a pass to Davis making a run right up the middle. Davis hammered the shot into the upper left corner.
Charlotte reserve forward Mira Mupier accounted for the lone 49ers goal at 88:14. He drilled a 12-yard shot past reserve Billiken keeper Travis Kamm to the left post with McGill picking up the assist.
"We're playing well right now, and it was unfortunate for Charlotte that they had to play back-to-back nights, because we were able to take advantage of that," Davis said. "We found space, got into a flow early and kept working at it."
"The work rate by both Brad and Dipsy was exceptional tonight," Donigan added. "When those two have that many touches, good things happen for us."
Saint Louis out-shot the 49ers 22-6. Politis made four saves for the Bills, while Charlotte's Mackanos made nine stops. The third-ranked Billikens improved to 15-1-0, while Charlotte's season ended at 9-9-3.
Sunday's title match against Marquette will be televised in St. Louis by Charter Communications. The No. 6 seed Golden Eagles surprised second-seeded UAB 4-1.
SAINT LOUIS 4, CHARLOTTE 1
SLU 8:32 Brad Davis
SLU 53:43 Dipsy Selolwane 7 yds from Davis
SLU 69:09 Selolwane 10 yds from Mike Hill, Nick Walls
SLU 70:21 Davis 12 yds from David Beck
CHA 88:14 Mira Mupier 12 yds from David McGill
Shots: SLU-22, CHA-6 Corners: SLU-4, CHA-4 Saves: SLU-4 (Politis-4, Kamm-0), CHA-9 (Mackanos) Fouls: SLU-6, CHA-11 Att: 112
