Oct. 12, 2007

Box Score

St. Bonaventure, N.Y. - Junior midfielder Kyle Patterson scored in the 53rd minute to lift No. 18 Saint Louis past St. Bonaventure 1-0 in Atlantic 10 Conference men's soccer action on Friday. The unassisted goal, Patterson's team-leading fifth of the season, backed a strong defensive effort as the Billikens yielded just two shots on goal in their league opener. Sophomore keeper Ross Kaufman stopped both shots for his fourth shutout of the year.

"It was a difficult, hard-fought match and we are fortunate that we were able to come away with the result," Billiken coach Dan Donigan said. "We still need to work on making better decisions late in matches, as I wasn't happy with the way we finished. Overall, though, it was a solid effort on the road against what I feel is a strong St. Bonaventure team. We now need to regroup quickly, as we travel on Sunday to face Duquesne team that had a winning result against Charlotte today."

Patterson broke up the defensive struggle at the 52:28 mark. After gaining possession near midfield, he carried the ball to the St. Bonaventure penalty area. Standing just outside the box, he a low liner that snuck into the right-side netting and past SBU keeper David Flynn for the game's only goal. It was Patterson's third tally in the last two games, and his second game-winner of the season.

"It was a workman's goal," Donigan said. "He battled through several defenders to create the chance, and he finished it nicely with an accurate liner into the side netting. It was that kind of individual effort that was going to put us on top."

Minutes later, Hamzagic nearly put the Billikens up by two. With the Billikens enjoying a territorial advantage since scoring the go-ahead goal, Hamzagic put a header toward the goal that beat Flynn. However, an SBU defender was parked on the goal line to clear the ball out of harm's way and keep it a one-goal game.

While Kaufman was only tested twice, both chances came in the final 15 minutes. SBU put their first shot on goal at the 77:46 mark, but leading scorer Samuel Maheu had his shot stopped. Late in the match, Kaufman turned aside a Stephen Bortolon chance to preserve the shutout.

The Billikens were part of a scoreless first half for the fourth time this season, although SLU was able to dictate the play on offense early on. Junior midfielder Brandon Barklage put the first ball on goal in the 12th minute, but Flynn stood his ground to preserve the scoreless tie. Junior forward Dado Hamzagic, who was a late scratch against Buffalo last Saturday due to illness but played all 90 minutes this afternoon, put a shot on goal that Flynn got his gloves on to deflect high.

The Billikens out-shot the Bonnies 14-7 and held an 8-4 advantage in corner kicks. The win lifts the Billikens to 15-1-3 all-time in A-10 regular season games.

The Billikens are unbeaten in their last six and improve to 5-1-3, 1-0-0 in the A-10. The Bonnies fall to 3-4-1, 0-1-0 in the league. The Billikens are next in action on Sunday when they travel to Pittsburgh to face Duquesne. Kick off is slated for 11 a.m. (CT) and can be followed live via GameTracker from www.slubillikens.com.