St. Louis - Freshman forward Vedad Ibisevic scored his second straight overtime winner to lift fourth-ranked Saint Louis past No. 13 Washington 2-1 this afternoon in a third round NCAA Tournament men's soccer match before 2,171 fans at Robert R. Hermann Stadium. The victory sent the Billikens to a quarterfinal match and a noon (CT) kick-off at Maryland on Sat., Dec. 6.
Ibisevic was the benefactor of a poor Washington defensive clearance. Huskies' back Gavin Hobbs tried to knock a free ball out of his own end, but the ball bounced off Ibisevic, who turned and found a clear path to the goal. "I was lucky, and I was tired, but I'll take it," he said. "I turned my head, the ball hit me and when I turned around, I saw the ball in front of me." After one touch, Ibisevic hammered a 15-yard shot to the right corner.
"We were disappointed with the finish," Huskies head coach Dean Wurzberger said. "But we made a mistake, and they punished us for it."
"Vedad put himself in good position," said Billikens head coach Dan Donigan. "Good forwards create opportunities through hard word and sometimes by chance. When Vedad gets those chances, he generally capitalizes on them."
Saint Louis flirted with danger early in the first half as defender Mo Benne's clearance attempt caromed to the right post where Huskies forward Brett Wiesner banged it off the goal post. Ibisevic put SLU on top in the 14th minute. After a long Brian Grazier slipped a pass to Ibisevic in front of the WU goal. Ibisevic made no mistake from eight yards.
Washington knotted the match in the 23rd minute on midfielder Troy Ready's 18-yard blast to the right post past SLU keeper Martin Hutton. Wiesner found Cummings streaking up the left flank, and Ready took two touches before burying it.
Billiken sophomore forward Cooper McKee restored the lead in the 37th minute on a superlative individual effort. McKee beat two Huskies defenders to the left of the WU goal. His six-yard shot caromed off a Washington defender past helpless keeper Danny Waltman.
The Billikens had two more superb chances on counter attacks to increase their lead before the end of the half. Freshman midfielder Alex Matteson sent a 15-yard shot wide of the right post, and freshman midfielder David Peplinski hammered a 22-yard drive just over the cross bar. Saint Louis out-shot the Huskies 11-9 for the half.
With Saint Louis assuming a defensive posture, Washington pressed the attack in the second half and tied the match again in the 62nd minute on Ready's second goal. A flick off a serve came to Ready, who put a side volley past Hutton from eight yards. Casey Armstrong and Hobbs picked up assists.
Billiken defender Kevin Wickart nearly got the winner in the 81st minute off DiRaimondo's corner kick. WU's Ready was at the right post to knock away Wickart's eight-yard header.
Three minutes into the overtime, the Bills' threatened on DiRaimondo's corner kick. Freshman defender Dan Guffey's header hit the goal post, and freshman midfielder Will John's rebound attempt was smothered by Waltman. That set the stage for Ibisevic's second goal of the match.
Washington finished the year 13-5-2. The Huskies out-shot the Bills 17-16 and had an 8-4 edge in corners. Waltman made three saves, and his defense cleared two balls off its line. SLU's Hutton made nine stops, and his defense also cleared a ball off its line.
Saint Louis (15-3-3) faces a rematch with the Terrapins, who eliminated the Billikens in College Park last year in the third round. Maryland advanced by blanking Akron 1-0.
#4 SAINT LOUIS 3, #13 WASHINGTON 2 (OT)
SLU 13:56 Vedad Ibisevic 8 yds from Brian Grazier
WU 22:39 Troy Ready 18 yds from Brett Wiesner
SLU 35:59 Cooper McKee 5 yds unassisted
WU 61:09 Ready 8-yds from Casey Armstrong, Gavin Hobbs
SLU 96:55 Ibisevic 15 yds unassisted
Shots: SLU - 16, UW - 17 Corners: SLU - 4, UW - 8 Saves: SLU - 10 (Hutton-9, Team-1), UW - 5 (Waltman-3, Team-2) Fouls: SLU - 12, UW - 19 Att: 2,171
