Sept. 13, 2007

Box Score

ST. LOUIS - Junior Brandon Barklage scored his first goal as a Billiken in the 89th minute to push Saint Louis past Loyola Marymount 1-0 in the first day of action at the Saint Louis/Nike Soccer Classic on Thursday at Robert R. Hermann Stadium.

Barklage settled the ball on the left wing from 35-yards away, turned and launched a low skipping shot just past the reach of LMU goalie Miguel Benitez for the only score of the contest. Tim Ream picked up the assist on the game winner.

"Brandon has a quick and powerful release, and it was a good goal by a good player," Billiken head coach Dan Donigan said. "He is a crafty and talented player. It was a hard-fought game tonight, and I am pleased the guys were rewarded with a good result."

The Billikens carried the play in the early going with Dado Hamzagic's rising shot coming the closest to putting the ball in the LMU net. The Billikens pushed forward and earned seven corner kicks while giving up just one, but the Lions managed to out-shoot SLU 4-3.

On a deadball restart nine minutes into the second half, Calum Angus' shot just trickled wide. Two minutes later, Kyle Patterson tried to one-time a shot but traveled over the Lions' crossbar. Later in the second half, Patterson again bid to put the Billikens on top, but this time he pushed his shot wide left. The Billikens had two more chances but were unable to find the back of the goal.

The Billikens out-shot LMU 10-6 and enjoyed a 10-1 advantage in corner kicks. The Billikens improve to 1-1-2 on the season, while the Lions fall to 1-3-0.

In the first game of the Nike Soccer Classic, #16 Creighton posted a 2-1 victory over #2 Indiana. The Billikens are back in action on Saturday when they take on the Hoosiers. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Hermann Stadium.