Chapel Hill, N.C. - No. 11 Saint Louis and 24th-ranked Wake Forest played to a 1-1 overtime tie tonight at Fetzer Field in the first game of North Carolina's Nike Classic. Senior forward Nick Walls scored the Billikens goal, and sophomore goalkeeper Martin Hutton made seven saves to thwart the Demon Deacons. It was the regular-season opener for both teams.
"We held off Wake Forest in the second half when they were playing some awfully good soccer, so there's something to be said for our guys," head coach Dan Donigan said. "There's plenty of room for growth on this team with so many new players, and tonight was another step in the right direction in a game that easily could have gone either way."
In a steady rainfall that was persistent throughout the game, Billiken Walls put SLU on top in the ninth minute. Andy Pusateri's initial cross was blocked and after it popped into the air, the junior midfielder headed the ball into the Demon Deacons' penalty area where Walls struck a side volley past WFU keeper William Hesmer from 12 yards.
Saint Louis held Wake Forest without a shot for the first 24 minutes, but the Deacons' first shot was dangerous. When Hutton dropped WFU defender Bobby Gehring's cross three yards in front of the Billiken goal, Hutton ended up with an arm wrapped around a WFU forward while the ball was free until Bills defender Jason Cole arrived to clear it.
Wake Forest increased the pressure in the regulation portion of the second half and kept the Bills defending for most of the 45 minutes. Hutton had to be sharp in the 58th minute on Deacons forward Ryan Alexander's header and again in the 66th minute on midfielder Vicente Bastidas' 15-yard drive.
Deacons forward Justin Moose finally broke through in the 81st minute on a long through ball from Gehring. Moose's 15-yard, one-touch strike beat the diving Hutton to his left and the game was knotted. Hutton made another superb stop to deny WFU the winner just moments later on forward Tomy Szczypiorski's point-blank 18-yard drive destined to sneak under the cross bar.
The Billikens had three shots in the overtime, but the Deacons had the best opportunity. A long cross from the left flank cleared Hutton to the far post where it bounced off the ground. Szczypiorski got his head on it, but the weak shot glanced off the goal post and bounded over the cross bar.
Wake Forest out-shot the Billikens 11-6 in the second half for a 13-10 advantage for the game. WFU's Hesmer made three saves including only one in the second half.
The Billikens face the defending national champion Tar Heels on Sun., Sept. 1, at 2 p.m. (CT). Meanwhile, Wake Forest will take on Akron in the first game.
#11 SAINT LOUIS 1, #24 Wake Forest 1
SLU 8:53 Nick Walls 12-yd volley from Andy Pusateri's
WFU 73:56 Justin Moose 15 yds from Bobby Gehring
Shots: SLU-10 , WFU-13 Corners: SLU-5 , WFU-2 Saves: SLU-7 (Hutton), WFU-3 (Hesmer) Fouls: SLU-31 , WFU-21 Att: 159
