Oct. 14, 2007
Box Score
PITTSBURGH - Sophomore midfielder Scott Wisniewski buried a Dado Hamzagic cross in the 64th minute to lift No. 18 Saint Louis to a 1-0 victory over Duquesne in a key Atlantic 10 Conference men's soccer showdown Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh. The Billikens, who improve to 6-1-3 overall and 2-0-0 in the A-10, produced their second-straight road victory to open league play.
"I am very pleased that we were able to come away with this result on the road against a strong Duquesne side," Billiken head coach Dan Donigan. "We came away with two victories this weekend on the road, and that is not an easy thing to do. We saw plenty of good things this weekend, and I am confident that we will continue to make strides and improve as the season moves along."
Wisniewski's tally, his second of the season, proved to the be the only goal the Bills would need. Hamzagic raced down the left side before sending the ball into the penalty area. Wisniewski, charging hard with the play, directed the touch into the right side netting for his fourth-career goal. It was the fifth time this season that the Billikens scored in the second half to break a scoreless draw.
SLU was able to preserve the 1-0 lead despite playing a man down during the final 10 minutes after junior defender Calum Angus was sent off after recording his second yellow card. At the 80:36 mark, Angus went up for a challenge in the air which he won. However, the official deemed the play too aggressive, thus sending the defensive stalwart off late in the match. The defense prevailed late, yielding just three Duquesne shots, none of which were a major test for Billiken goalie Ross Kaufman.
In what was a physical first half that saw 14 fouls and five cautions, neither team managed to find the back of the net despite several quality chances. Junior midfielder Kyle Patterson, Angus and Hamzagic all had chances in the opening 15 minutes, but the scoring bids were all turned aside by Duquesne keeper Chris Torres. Later, senior midfielder Brandon Gasparovic had back-to-back shots stopped by Torres, and he made his sixth and final save of the opening stanza on a header attempt from sophomore forward Jimmy Holmes. Meanwhile, Kaufman made two saves as the team's headed to the locker room with the scored knotted 0-0.
The Billikens out-shot Duquesne 12-10 and enjoyed a 4-0 advantage in corner kicks. Kaufman made four saves for his second-straight shutout, while Torress made eight stops for Duquesne. The Billikens were whistled for six cautions, while the Dukes were issued two yellow cards.
The Billikens, who are unbeaten in their last seven, return to Robert R. Hermann Stadium on Friday when they face A-10 foe UMass at 7 p.m. Next Sunday, the Bills face Rhode Island in a 1 p.m. kick off at Hermann Stadium.
