LOS ANGELES - Saint Louis rallied from two one-goal deficits to post a 2-2 tie against Loyola Marymount Sunday in the LMU Men's Soccer Fall Classic at Sullivan Field in Los Angeles. Senior forward Brandon Barklage (St. Louis, Mo./CBC) buried a rocket at the 87:26 mark to help the Billikens (0-0-2) salvage the draw.
"I think our team showed a lot of character this weekend," Donigan said. "We would have liked to come out with a pair of wins, but the way our team fought at the end of both matches says a lot about their drive and competitiveness. For the second straight game, our guys capitalized by scoring a goal late in regulation that we so desperately needed, and that is encouraging."
Loyola Marymount, which was coming off an impressive 1-1 draw on Friday against 10th-ranked New Mexico, went up 1-0 on a first-half tally by Sharif Khatib. He corralled a Tyler Krumpe pass and blasted a left-footed shot past SLU keeper Pat Disbennett for a 1-0 LMU lead.
That remained the score until SLU senior midfielder Kyle Patterson netted the equalizer in the 57th minute. He re-directed a Rob Viviano serve to the far post to knot the score at 1-1.
The Lions went ahead at 80:33 when Artur Jozkowicz put one past Disbennett.
However, for the second match in a row, Saint Louis scored a goal with under five minutes remaining to lift the game into overtime. This time, Barklage provided the heroics when he blasted a ball from outside the box, estimated at 35 yards, past LMU keeper Jack McCormack.
"Brandon unleashed an unbelievable ball," Donigan said. "It has been a while since I've seen a ball like that from 35 or so yards. I don't think any keeper would have stopped it."
Despite playing a man down for most of the second 10-minute overtime session after freshman Jimmy Holmes collected the rebound and put a ball on frame that glanced off the post.
"At that point in the game, our guys were tired after playing two straight matches in double overtime," Donigan said. "We did a good job adjusting to the situation and were able to salvage the result against a much improved team from last year in Loyola Marymount."
Barklage, Viviano, Johnston and Tim Ream were named to the LMU Fall Classic All-Tournament Team. New Mexico, which used overtime to top San Diego earlier today, won the tournament title.
Saint Louis is back in action next weekend when it travels to Creighton's Diadora Challenge in Omaha, Neb. The Billikens face UC-Riverside on Friday and Portland on Sunday.
