Oct. 6, 2007
Box Score
St. Louis - Kyle Patterson scored two goals and assisted on another for No. 14 Saint Louis, but Buffalo scored with 8.2 seconds left in regulation for a 3-3 tie on Saturday evening at Robert R. Hermann Stadium. The Bulls tallied twice in the last seven minutes to deny the Billikens their fifth straight victory.
"Give Buffalo credit for fighting back. They are a good team," Billiken head coach Kyle Patterson scored two good goals, and we did some things well on the offensive end. However, the defensive lapses prevented us from getting the result we wanted. We had a two-goal lead in the second half and let it get away. That is unacceptable."
On the first shot of the game, Kyle Patterson to put the Billikens on top 1-0 just 2:36 into the game. Patterson beat two Buffalo defenders on the right side of the field, and Hayes' shot bounced off the crossbar and into the goal.
The Billikens nearly made it 2-0 in the 12th minute of action when Patterson unleashed a driving shot to the right that was stopped by Bulls keeper Rob Shuttleworth. Scott Wisniewski had another prime scoring chance for the Billikens when his deflection just skidded to the right of the Buffalo goal in the 25th minute. The Billiken defense was stout and controlled the play as Buffalo was held without a shot in the first 45 minutes.
Buffalo did not register its first shot of the game until two minutes into the second half and nearly tallied the equalizer six minutes later. However, Buffalo tied the game in the 57th minute when Dan Bulley collected a pass from Dominic Oppong and tucked the ball into the Billiken net. However, the Billikens answered in quick succession.
SLU regained the lead just 44 seconds later, when Jimmy Holmes was pulled down in the box to earn the Billikens a penalty kick. Patterson took the spot for the Billikens and drilled the ball into the center of the Buffalo goal to restore the SLU lead. The Billikens struck quickly on their very next possession of the ball when Brandon Barklage sprinted up the right side and led Patterson, who slotted the ball into the Buffalo net from close range for a 3-1 SLU lead at the 58:58 mark.
With 13 minutes left to play in the game, Buffalo's Bulley bid for a second goal was denied on a scintillating reflex save by SLU keeper Ross Kaufman. Buffalo edged closer in the 84th minute when Marc Stencel collected a pass up the middle from Dan Stevens to make the score 3-2. In the final minute, the Bulls pushed everyone forward in an attempt to tie the game. With 8.2 seconds left, Dan Stevens drilled a long shot from 20 yards away which nicked the underside of the crossbar and into the Billiken net to equalize at 3-3.
Neither team generated a strong scoring chance in overtime until Barklage had a header roll just left of the Buffalo goal early in the second overtime session. Two minutes later, Jimmy Holmes to generate another scoring chance.
The Billikens are now 4-1-3 on the season, while the Bulls stand at 7-3-2. The Billikens begin Atlantic 10 Conference play next week when they travel to St. Bonaventure on Friday, Oct. 12.
