Oct. 19, 2012

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - A Saint Louis goal in the 71st minute broke a scoreless tie and eventually handed Saint Joseph's its fourth loss in five games as the Hawks fell to the Billikens, 1-0, on Friday evening at Finnesey Field. With the loss, SJU stands at 5-9-0 overall and 1-4-0 in Atlantic 10 action. The game was hard-fought as the Hawks defense played an integral role in keeping Saint Louis to a minimum of offensive opportunities, allowing the Billikens only two shots on goal and nine shots total for the entire match.

At the 70:06 mark, #23 Saint Louis (10-3-0, 4-1-0 A-10) took a throw in after Saint Joseph's kicked the ball out of play. SLU's Bryce Kingsley took the throw in for the Billikens, firing the ball into a mix of SLU offense and SJU defense. Junior goalkeeper Michael Moulton stepped out of the goal to capture the throw in, but the ball slipped through his hands, remaining in play. Alex Sweetin found the ball and pushed it into the open Hawks net to give the Billikens the only lead they would need at 1-0.

Saint Joseph's rocketed five shots in the final 19 minutes of play, but none would be on goal.

There was a spark of offensive opportunity as the Billikens were charged with a penalty with :06 remaining in regulation to set Saint Joseph's up with a free kick outside the 18. Junior midfielder Pat McGlynn launched the ball into a group of Hawks and Billikens, but Saint Louis would clear the ball as the remaining time expired.

For the game, Saint Joseph's held the advantage in shots (13-9), but Saint Louis strongly outnumbered SJU in corner kicks (10-1), giving the Billikens strong opportunities on the offensive end.

Moulton (0-1-0 overall, 0-1-0 A-10) made one save in the loss, while senior Tim Brennan and junior Brandon Stevis each recorded one shot on goal.

"Saint Louis is a top team. They're at the top of the A-10 and they're ranked nationally. Our guys came out and played a full 90 minutes of great defense," said head coach Don D'Ambra. "We created good offensive chances, and we had good opportunities to score. We did everything we could and it was a very even match, but unfortunately we made a mistake on the defensive end and they capitalized on it. Anytime that you can have a close match like that, it's the team that can execute its chances. We didn't make many mistakes but they capitalized on the one mistake we did make. I'm proud of our guys for the effort. I think that they played a great match and they put themselves in a position to win the game against a really strong program which makes a big statement for where we're at as a program."

The Hawks will host their final home game of the season this Sunday, October 21 against Butler at 1:00 p.m. Senior Day celebrations will be celebrated prior to kickoff.