St. Louis - Saint Louis freshman midfielder David Peplinski scored six minutes into overtime to lift the Billikens to a 3-2 triumph today over No. 14 Virginia at Klockner Stadium to capture the title of Virginia's adidas Classic. Playing shorthanded throughout the second half, the Billikens held off the Cavaliers who fought back from a two-goal deficit.
"I've never been prouder of a team than this group today," head coach Dan Donigan said. "We refused to bow to adversity and came back in overtime while playing through exhaustion. It was an unbelievable effort from everyone, because we just battled."
Freshman forward Vedad Ibisevic put the Billikens on top in the seventh minute on a breakaway with Peplinski picking up the assist. Freshman midfielder John DiRaimondo made it a two-goal advantage in the 36th minute on a 25-yard free kick. DiRaimondo bent a drive over the Cavaliers' wall to the left corner.
Saint Louis was forced to play short a man when freshman midfielder Alex Matteson was assessed a second yellow card just five minutes into the second half. The Saint Louis bench vehemently disputed the card.
"We had to bunker in with a two goal lead," Donigan said. "We really didn't have any other choice. The maturity that our freshmen displayed to weather the storm and come back to win was impressive. It was an incredible game to watch from the sideline."
Virginia (0-2-0) poured 21 shots at the SLU goal in the second half on its way to a 33-6 advantage for the match. The Cavaliers had a 16-0 edge in corner kicks. Under that onslaught, Billiken goalkeeper Martin Hutton made 12 saves and was named tournament MVP.
The Cavaliers finally broke through in the 70th minute, and tied the match in the 80th on a penalty kick. That set the stage for Peplinski, who scored at 96:33 on a breakaway off a feed from Ibisevic.
Along with Hutton, defender Kevin Wickart, midfielder Brian Grazier and DiRaimondo were named to the All-Tournament team.
The Billikens (2-0-0) play in Furman's Soccer Classic next weekend when they face No. 9 Clemson on Fri., Sept. 5, at Greenville, S.C.
