ST. LOUIS - Senior Dado Hamzagic scored early in the second half to lead the eighth-ranked Billikens past DePaul 1-0 in a men's soccer exhibition Wednesday night at Robert R. Hermann Stadium on the SLU campus.
"It was a great game for us to evaluate our team," Billiken head coach Dan Donigan said. "I give DePaul credit, because they really challenged us in the first half. At halftime, we corrected a few things, and that led to us getting better possession and better opportunities. I am happy where we are, and now it is a matter of continuing to build our fitness base. DePaul was a great opponent for an exhibition, they play great soccer."
The Billikens opened the scoring early in the second session when Hamzagic and Brandon Barklage connected on a give-and-go. Hamzagic possessed the ball near the top of the box and poked a pass to Barklage. With one touch, Barklage bounced it right back to Hamzagic who ripped a high liner from 20 yards that found the back of the net.
Offensive pressure from both sides continued following a rather slow first half. DePaul's Matt Leinauer had a chance on a header in the goal mouth, but the ball just sailed over the crossbar. The SLU defense fought off several other chances, including a nice clearance by Rob Viviano with just under 20 minutes remaining in regulation.
Jonas Reiter, an A-10 All-Rookie team selection making his first appearance in a Billiken uniform, created several nice chances up top. With 14 minutes remaining, Reiter toed a ball to the far post that just missed the post. Another Billiken newcomer, Eric Sweetin, but his chance was stopped by DePaul keeper Brian Visser.
Neither team managed much offense in the early going as the teams were feeling each other out. In the opening minutes, junior back Josh Aranda threaded a ball through the DePaul defense for SLU forward Scott Wisniewski, but the Billikens were offside on the play.
Later, Wisniewski had another scoring chance when he chipped a ball over the defense off a corner kick, but the ball sailed just high.
DePaul built up a variety of chances, but the staunch SLU defense was there to disrupt any big scoring chances. Aranda cleared up several opportunities, and starting keeper Pat Disbennett made a stop off of a Leinauer shot on goal for the lone Billiken save of the game.
Overall, Saint Louis out-shot the Blue Demons 13-9. Visser made six saves for DePaul, while Disbennett and Ross Kaufman split time in the net for the shutout.
Saint Louis is in action again on Saturday against Memphis in an exhibition tilt at Robert R. Hermann Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
