ST. LOUIS - Alex Johnston scored 1:57 into overtime to vault the Billikens to a 1-0 victory against Clemson Saturday in non-conference soccer action at Robert R. Hermann Stadium.
The win moves SLU to 5-4-0 on the year and came on a night when SLU celebrated its "First 50 Years." The 1959 national championship team was honored during a pregame ceremony, and the rest of the soccer alumni along with the Billiken Half-Century Team were recognized at halftime.
"I'm happy we continued to battle, and it was good to see the guys get rewarded for that," Billikens head coach Dan Donigan said. "Give Clemson a lot of credit, they played a hard game. I told my team to continue to feed off the UMKC game and now this and build that momentum that is so important heading into conference season.
"The winning goal was right in front of a tent with more than 200 of our former players, and it feels great to get a win for them," Donigan continued, alluding to a reception for soccer alumni that was held on the southeast corner of the field. "It was great to see that history and tradition around our field. This is the biggest and most successful family in collegiate soccer, and it was awesome to have them back. We thank them for what they have done and what they built here at Saint Louis University."
Johnston picked a great time to score his first career goal. From the left side, Stephen Bortolon struck a ball that Johnston ran onto, heading it into the far side of the net for the Billiken victory.
The game-winning tally came after Clemson and Saint Louis traded chances in regulation. In first-half action, Tim Ream had a free kick from 35 yards sail just high.
Both teams picked up the pace offensively in the second half. Clemson's Austin Savage generated an open look and fired far post, but Ross Kaufman dove to the right to stop the scoring opportunity.
Sweetin hit the crossbar on a 20-yard drive at 69:55, and Clemson's Eric Cava returned the favor a bit later by hitting the post on a 20-yarder of his own. The Billikens had possession in Clemson's end for a better part of the final five minutes of regulation but were unable to connect.
SLU out-shot the Tigers 13-6 and held a 6-2 advantage in corner kicks. Senior Ross Kaufman, who made his first start in goal since the second game of the year, came up with three saves for the shutout.
Saint Louis begins Atlantic 10 Conference play next weekend with a pair of games at Robert R. Hermann Stadium. The Billikens host Richmond Friday at 7 p.m. and George Washington Sunday at 1 p.m.
