St. Louis - Saint Louis sophomore defender Calum Angus netted the winner in the first half and the Billikens shut out Missouri State 1-0 tonight in a men's non-conference soccer match at Robert R. Hermann Stadium. Freshman Ross Kaufman recorded his third career shutout.
"You've got to give their keeper credit for playing an excellent game, but we have just got to make better decisions on the ball," Billikens head coach Dan Donigan said. "We moved the ball well and controlled play, but we have to improve our finishing."
Dominating play early, Saint Louis registered six of the first seven shots and generated quality chances. Senior forward Casey Spiess had Bears keeper Lance Parker out of position in the fifth minute, but shot into the side of the net from the right side. Parker parried Dado Hamzagic's 25-yard blast over the cross bar in the 13th minute. Sophomore defender Calum Angus' four-yard header in the 14th minute broke the ice. Billiken Hermann Trophy candidate Dan Guffey to the left of the MSU goal. Guffey headed the ball in front of the goal where Angus bounced a shot inside the left post.
The Billikens kept up the assault, but MSU's Parker was equal to the task. DiRaimondo was in the middle of most of the chances as he sent an 18-yard shot past the right post in the 29th minute and had a deflection again go wide of the right post after SLU played a short corner in the 42nd minute. Parker stopped two break-ins as he stoned Dado Hamzagic's, who was in all alone in the 40th minute, and stymied Kyle Patterson, who had a Bears defender hanging on his hip, from 15 yards in the 43rd minute. DiRaimondo set up freshman Scott Wisniewski with a centering pass from the right flank the penalty spot in the 44th minute, but Parker dived to his right to deny the rookie forward. Saint Louis out-shot the Bears 11-2 in the first half.
DiRaimondo continued to attack in the second half, and Hamzagic had a 15-yard deflection off the senior's serve go just wide in the 53rd minute. Bears midfielder Ryan Anderson gave MSU its best chances as he rang a 35-yard rocket off the cross bar in the 55th minute and followed with a similar drive that sailed high minutes later. In the 58th minute, Anderson beat two SLU defenders along the left end line and sent a cross along the face of the goal that Bills senior defender Mo Benne cleared away. It was mostly Billiken chances the rest of the way as Parker smothered DiRaimondo's 10-yard shot in the 78th minute and snagged his eight-yard shot in a penalty area scramble with less that eight minutes to play.
The Billikens out-shot Missouri State (5-4-2) 15-5, but the Bears had a 4-3 edge on corners. SLU's Kaufman had to make only one save to post the shutout, while Parker made eight saves. Saint Louis (4-3-1) continues its eight-game homestand by opening Atlantic 10 Conference action against Duquesne on Sat., Sept. 30, at 7:30 p.m.
