Aug. 18, 2004

St. Louis - Saint Louis and Loyola (ill.) played to a 2-2 tie in a men's exhibition soccer match tonight at Robert R. Hermann Stadium. Sophomore forward Will John scored twice for the Billikens, but Loyola's Matt Marek netted the equalizer in the 83rd minute. "We play these exhibitions so people can learn and gain experience, but we still need to perform better than that," said Billikens head coach Dan Donigan. "We set a high standard, and everyone has to understand that we need to play to that standard every match. I believe that we'll probably be better on Saturday against Creighton." John put the Billikens on top off John DiRaimondo's corner kick in the 21st minute. Senior defender Brett Branan flicked DiRaimondo's serve to John, who was unmarked at the left of the goal. John buried a 12-yard shot into the upper netting. The Ramblers knotted the match in the 25th minute on midfielder Eric Spiess' eight-yarder. Spiess broke in on Billiken keeper Jeff Sackman off a feed from Bill Metzger. SLU regained the lead n John's superlative individual effort. The Bills' Hermann Trophy candidate blocked LU keeper Sean Bond's punt, and the ball caromed in past the left post. The Ramblers' Metzger assisted on his second goal of the night as Loyola capitalized on a Billiken defensive break down to get the tying goal. Marek drilled an eight-yard shot past Bills back-up keeper Pat Disbennett. The Billikens had a chance to win with 17 seconds left after a Rambler foul right at the top of the Loyola penalty area. Freshman defender Tim Ward sent a shot over the cross bar and time expired. Saint Louis out-shot the Ramblers 12-8. Loyola keeper Sean Bond made five saves, and his defense cleared one ball off its line to prevent John from a hat trick. Disbennett made three saves in the second half, while Sackman wasn't tested beyond the Ramblers' first-half goal. Corners were even at four apiece. Saint Louis plays its second exhibition on Saturday when the Billikens host Creighton at 7 p.m.

SAINT LOUIS 2, LOYOLA 2
SLU  20:19  Will John 12 yds from Brett Branan and John DiRaimondo
LU  24:18  Eric Spiess 8 yds from Bill Metzger
SLU  32:01  John 15 yds unassisted
LU  82:04  Matt Marek 10 yds from Metzger

Shots: SLU - 12, LU - 8
Corners: SLU - 4, LU - 4
Saves: SLU - 3 (Sackman-0, Disbennett-3),  LU - 6 (Bond-5, Team-1)
Fouls: SLU - 10, LU - 11