Nov. 16, 2007

Box Score

DAYTON, Ohio - No. 12 Saint Louis and Charlotte played to a scoreless draw in a semifinal matchup Friday night at the 2007 Atlantic 10 Conference Men's Soccer Championships in Dayton, Ohio. However, the 49ers posted a 3-2 advantage in penalty kicks to advance to Sunday's championship match. While missing out at a chance to play for the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament, the Billikens (12-2-4) are still expected to receive an at-large bid when the seedings for the 48-team field is announced on Monday.

"That was a tough way to be eliminated in the conference tournament," Billiken head coach Dan Donigan said. "Charlotte had plenty of players behind the ball, they were well organized and they defended well. They played a great defensive game, and they made the penalty kicks when they needed to. I still expect a bid into the NCAA Tournament, and we'll wait and see what happens on Monday."

Neither Saint Louis nor Charlotte could get much going offensively in the early going. SLU, which entered the contest sixth in the nation in scoring offense, was unable to penetrate a Niners defense that packed into the box. On the flip side, SLU's defensive effort was just as effective despite losing A-10 Defensive Player of the Year Calum Angus to injury midway through the first session.

The offensive firepower that was expected in the match (Saint Louis and Charlotte were one and two, respectively, in scoring offense in the A-10) was on display early in the second half. Charlotte's Kevin Fox had the first real scoring opportunity when he broke in all alone on SLU keeper Pat Disbennett, who kicked aside the ball from point-blank range. On the Billikens' counter-attack, SLU forward Dado Hamzagic broke in on Charlotte keeper David Martin, who was equal to the task in eliminating the chance.

Disbennett had to be steady in making a save on a Charlotte free kick, and the Bills caught a break when the Niners' Will Schull deflected a ball wide of an open net with under 12 minutes to play.

Later, the Billikens built up their best scoring chance with seven minutes left in regulations. Midfielder Brandon Barklage and defender Casey Herd manufactured a one-two, and Barklage broke in on the left side and ripped a shot to the far post. The chance just missed the frame, and the teams finished regulation and the two subsequent 10-minute overtimes with no legitimate scoring opportunities.

In the penalty kick session, Charlotte went up 2-0, but Disbennett made two straight saves and Tim Ream and Kyle Patterson connected on their chances to knot things at 2-2. In round five, Charlotte's Andres Cuero was good on his PK, and SLU's chance to keep things going was wide of the mark, vaulting Charlotte into its first A-10 Tournament title game.

The Billikens will learn their NCAA Tournament fate on Monday when the tournament pairings are announced on ESPNews between 4 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. (CT).