ST. LOUIS - No. 21 Saint Louis suffered a 3-0 setback against New Mexico Tuesday night in non-conference men's soccer action at Robert R. Hermann Stadium. It was the season opener for both squads.
"This was obviously a disappointing way to begin the season," Billiken head coach Dan Donigan said. "We can't make those simple, fundamental mistakes that are preventable against a tough team like New Mexico. This is an unacceptable performance by our team, and we are not going to forget this. It's gut-check time, as we have two tough games on the road coming up this weekend.
"There were some select guys that played well tonight," Donigan continued. "For the most part, it was just some simple individual mistakes that led to their opportunities. It's a long season and we have a lot of games left. There is no doubt that this will be a learning experience for our guys. This is the first game of the year and we have plenty of time to recover from this, and we will."
The Billikens will look to regroup with a pair of games this weekend at the Nike Portland Invitational in Oregon. Saint Louis faces Washington Friday, Sept. 4, in a 6:30 p.m. (CT) kick before facing host Portland Sunday at 4:30 p.m. (CT).
Simon Ejdemyr got the Lobos on the board with a penalty-kick strike at 35:11. He was awarded the chance after a New Mexico attacker was pulled down in the middle of the box, and he buried the ball into the center netting to put New Mexico on top 1-0.
The tally came after New Mexico and Saint Louis traded chances to crack the scoreboard. Roughly 15 minutes into the game, Billiken freshman Alex Sweetin sent a long pass that found a streaking Mike Roach, but he was not able to get his entire foot on the ball and UNM keeper Justin Fite was there to make the stop.
On the other end a bit later, P.J. Wilson unleashed a drive from 15 yards that SLU senior keeper Ross Kaufman kicked aside. New Mexico had another chance with 21 minutes left in the first frame, but senior defender Rob Viviano cleared the ball off the line to eliminate the Lobos' threat.
New Mexico notched its second goal of the game at the 50:01 mark of the second half when Justin Davis carried a ball from the left side and put a shot inside the far post for the 2-0 lead. At 61:55, Wilson buried a pass from James Urbany, who picked the ball off the end line and crossed to the middle of the box, to make it 3-0 Lobos.
The Lobos held a 15-9 advantage in shots, while the Billikens out-cornered New Mexico 7-2. Kaufman made eight saves for the Bills, while Fite stopped four chances for UNM in the shutout.
Including their two games in Oregon this weekend, the Billikens are on the road for five straight. They are not back at Hermann Stadium until Sept. 26 when Tulsa comes to town for Homecoming.
