Nov. 7, 2010
Box Score
ST. LOUIS - Needing a win or a tie to claim a spot in next week's Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament, Saint Louis rallied from two goals down with less than 20 minutes to go to post a 2-2 draw against Massachusetts Sunday at Robert R. Hermann Stadium.
The Billikens (8-6-3, 5-3-1 A-10) earned a spot in the A-10 Championship, which begins Thursday, Nov. 11, in Charlotte, N.C. The official seeds and pairings will be released by the league office tomorrow.
"I am very proud of the guys," SLU head coach Mike McGinty said. "It is a testament to how they have played all year. They battled and stuck together. In the last 20 minutes when it looked like there was nothing left to play for, they found a way and battled back. We have good momentum going into the A-10 Tournament. You want to be playing your best soccer late in the year, and we are playing better now that we were in August."
UMass took a 2-0 lead late in the second half before the Billikens battled back in the final 20 minutes. The first SLU goal came in the 74th minute when Alex Sweetin served a ball into the box. Alex Johnston got his head on it and flicked into the back of the net to make it 2-1 UMass. It was Johnston's second goal in as many games.
SLU continued its charge and notched the equalizer in the 80th minute on freshman Sito Sasieta's first career goal. The scoring play was set up by junior Mike Roach, who carried the ball down the left flank. He spotted Sasieta at the far post and whipped a perfectly flighted ball that Sasieta headed into the back of the net.
After the Billikens battled back to tie the score, SLU sophomore keeper Mark Pais preserved the tie, and perhaps the season, for the Billikens. In the first overtime session, Pais made a miraculous diving stop on what appeared to be a sure open-net goal for UMass. In all, Pais made six saves for SLU.
The Minutemen, whose season came to an end with the tie, went on top 2-0 on goals by Bryant Craft in the 63rd minute and Ben Arikian in the 68th minute.
