ST. LOUIS – No. 8 Saint Louis got goals from a pair of freshmen in a 2-1 Atlantic 10 Conference victory over La Salle Saturday night at Hermann Stadium on Homecoming and Family Weekend.
The Billikens improve to 5-2-3 overall and 2-0 in A-10 play. La Salle slips to 1-3-5 overall and 0-1-1 in the league.
All the scoring came in the second half. Theo Franca and Nick Schramm scored for the Bills after La Salle opened the scoring. Jeremi Abonnel came up big with a save on a penalty kick in the final minutes.
It was La Salle that struck first when Alexandru Zama scored at the 55:28 mark. He accepted a pass from Sean Yurgel, then made a nice move to create space and put one past Abonnel for the game's first goal.
The Billikens got the equalizer in the 60th minute. Sam Coughlan sent a perfectly flighted ball into the area. Franca ran onto it and headed it in as he was diving parallel to the field. It was Franca's team-leading third goal of the season and Coughlan's first career collegiate point.
Schramm scored the go-ahead goal in the 78th minute. Carlos Leatherman started the scoring play with an entry to Abdoul Karim Pare. He then sent a ball across the goal mouth where Schramm fired it home for the game-winner. It was the second goal of the season for Schramm.Â
Abonnel saved the result when he stopped a La Salle PK late in the match. He dove to his right to stop the chance from Pedro Amadou to help SLU to the 2-1 win.
The Billikens continue A-10 play next Saturday night (Oct. 4) when they host Dayton at Hermann Stadium on SLU Soccer Alumni Night. Game time is 7 p.m. The Flyers are 2-0-1 during the conference season, including a 4-2 victory over Davidson tonight.
