Aug. 21, 2004

St. Louis - Saint Louis junior midfielder Ryan Wileman drilled the game winner in the 85th minute as the Billikens topped Creighton 1-0 in a men's exhibition soccer match tonight before 3,648 fans at Robert R. Hermann Stadium. The Billikens topped Blue Jays coach Bob Warming, who was making his first appearance at Hermann Stadium since leaving the Bills for Creighton after the 2000 season. "That was a better effort tonight than we had on Wednesday, because the intensity and focus were much greater," Billikens head coach Dan Donigan said. "That's the way we have to play - work hard as a group and get tremendous movement off the ball." Wileman's goal came immediately after a take town of SLU Hermann Trophy candidate Will John in Creighton's penalty area that would have resulted in a penalty kick. Bills forward Alex Matteson found John just inside the Jays' 18. "I didn't hit it first time, because I didn't think I could get it on frame," John said. "I made a move to get away from one defender, but another came in on me and the ball went to Ryan. I never saw it. I was on the ground and heard the crowd scream." "Will got the ball to me, and he always seems to find other people," Wileman said. "I was just glad to get it through and on goal. We've got plenty of talented players on this team, and we're going to be fine." In an evenly played second half, each side had a pair of opportunities to break the deadlock before Wileman's winning strike. CU goalkeeper Matt Allen stymied Matteson from 18 yards in the 59th minute. The Blue Jays' Julian Nash had a pair of chances but shot wide from six yards in the 68th minute and shot over the cross bar in the 79th minute. Billiken midfielder Danny Wynn had the best chance of the night in the 80th minute as John DiRaimondo put Wynn in on a counterattack, but CU's Allen smothered Wynn's 15-yard shot. In a scoreless first half, the Billikens out-shot Creighton 5-1 and enjoyed a wide territorial advantage. The Blue Jays came out strong early, but the Billikens turned the tide for the final 30 minutes. John led all players with three shots, and Jays keeper Andrew Brown made three saves. Saint Louis (1-0-1 preseason) out-shot Creighton (0-1-0 preseason) 8-5 and had a 5-3 edge in corners. Brown and Allen combined for five saves, while SLU's Jeff Sackman and Pat Disbennett were not forced to make a stop in posting the shutout. The game was a match of two 2003 NCAA Tournament quarterfinalists. Saint Louis concludes its exhibition schedule on Sat., Aug. 28, when the Billikens host Northwestern at 7 p.m.

SAINT LOUIS 1, CREIGHTON 0
SLU  84:48  Ryan Wileman from Will John, Alex Matteson

Shots: SLU - 8, CU - 5
Corners: SLU - 5, CU - 3
Saves: SLU - 0 (Sackman, Disbennett), CU - (Brown-3, Allen-2)
Fouls: SLU - 12, CU - 18
Att:  3,648