Oct. 19, 2007

Box Score

ST. LOUIS - No. 12 Saint Louis yielded a goal early in the second half as Massachusetts escaped Robert R. Hermann Stadium with a 1-0 victory in Atlantic 10 Conference men's soccer action Friday night. UMass' Mark DeSantis scored in the 50th minute to hand the Minutemen their sixth straight win. It is the second loss of the season for SLU, which falls to 6-2-3 overall and 2-1-0 in A-10 play.

"It was the little things we didn't do and didn't execute, and that cost us a major conference game," Billiken head coach Dan Donigan said. "We had possession for 90 percent of the time in the first half, but only got off four shots. We tried mixing it up with different lineups, but the bottom line is that we didn't do the things we needed to when we wanted to."

The Minutemen jumped on top early in the second half when Mark DeSantis put one past SLU sophomore keeper Ross Kaufman in the 50th minute. DeSantis collected a pass from Bryan Hogan off the right flank, and fired a shot from near the top of the box that deflected off Kaufman's gloves and into the left-side netting. It was Mark DeSantis' third tally on the year.

SLU almost answered several minutes later. Senior defender Brandon Gasparovic struck a dead ball from 40 yards that curled into the penalty area. Freshman forward Beau Bellomy got his head on the ball, but the Billikens' best scoring opportunity up to that point squirted just wide of the left post.

Later, sophomore forward Scott Wisniewski ran up the left flank and let go a shot from 15 yards. However, the attempt sailed into the side of the net.

While the Billikens controlled possession for much of the first half, they were unable to find the back of the net. Junior forward Dado Hamzagic made a nice effort to reach a ball on the endline, but his centering pass to Kyle Patterson was intercepted by two defenders. In the first frame, SLU out-shot the Minutemen 4-3. The two teams headed to the lockerroom deadlocked at 0-0, the seventh time this season the Billikens have played a scoreless first half.

Overall, Saint Louis out-shot UMass 8-4 and held a 4-1 advantage in corner kicks. Kaufman made two saves, while UMass keeper Zack Simmons stopped two as well. Patterson and Wisniewski each had a pair of shots for SLU, while Hamzagic and Brandon Barklage each put a shot on goal.

The Billikens will have to regroup on Sunday as they host Rhode Island at 1 p.m. in a rematch of the last two A-10 Championship games. Tickets are available at the gate for $7 for adults, $5 for youth.