The Saint Louis men’s soccer team earned top honors from the Atlantic 10 this week when defender Tim Ream earned A-10 Co-Player of the Week, and forward Alex Sweetin received the Co-Rookie of the Week award.
But that isn’t where it stopped for Ream. Ream obtained a cap on CollegeSoccerNews.com National Team of the Week.
The duo of Ream and Sweetin hooked up nicely in Saint Louis’ (7-4-0, 2-0-0 A-10) match against Richmond. Sweetin set Ream up with a pass, which Ream took and shot into the back of the net from 25 yards out. This was the Billikens only score of the match, but it was just enough to hand them the victory.
The duo proved to be quite offensive in the match against George Washington. Of the four goals that Saint Louis scored, three came from Ream and Sweetin. The goal scored in the 22nd minute was Sweetin’s first goal of his career, a goal that tied up the match. When the Billiken’s found themselves down 2-1, Ream went on a tear and put two balls in the goal. With those two tallies, Saint Louis achieved its fourth-straight victory.
Ream and Sweetin will look to continue their honorable performances when the Billikens face off against No. 15 Charlotte (7-1-3, 1-0-1 A-10), who travel to Saint Louis for this highly anticipated battle.
Dayton move atop standings
Dayton midfielder Isaac Kissi had a weekend to remember. A hat trick during the Flyers’ match against Rhode Island led to Kissi’s earning A-10 Co-Player of the Week, as well as a spot on TopDrawerSoccer Men’s College Team of the Week.
Dayton scored five goals over the weekend, not allowing any shots to pass the defense. With this showing, the team moved into first place in the A-10 standings.
The Flyers (7-3-1, 2-0-0 A-10) dominated the New England region of teams, shutting down Rhode Island and Massachusetts. While the match against Rhode Island was quick and easy, the match against UMass took a period of overtime to decide the victory.
The Rams (3-7-1, 0-2-0 A-10) barely put up a fight against Dayton, who outscored its opponents 17-8. The Flyers committed 10 fouls in their dominating performance as well.
Kissi proved to be the difference maker between Dayton and Rhode Island. He scored three of the four goals against the Rams – his first just four minutes into the match. His second goal came off a penalty kick, and his final one off a rebound.
Going into the UMass game, Dayton was on a six-game unbeaten streak. After a hard-fought battle and an equal performance by both sides, senior Alex Torda was able to capitalize in overtime and score the coveted golden goal for the Flyers in the 107th minute.
Dayton’s unbeaten streak remains intact, as the team looks ahead to Friday when they play St. Bonaventure.
49ers have bittersweet weekend
While the 49ers’ (7-1-3, 1-0-1 A-10) weekend started off strong with a 6-0 stomping over George Washington, the team ended the weekend with a scoreless draw against Richmond.
Senior Adam Gross had a breakout performance against the Colonials. Gross scored two goals on the three shots he took, followed by two assists. Both of Gross’s goals found the back of the net in the first half, the first being seven minutes into the match. This goal came off of a penalty kick, and was Gross’s third goal of the season.
There was a second penalty kick during the match against George Washington (6-5-0, 0-2-0 A-10) taken by Luke Exley.
The final goal of the match was put in by freshman Jenning Rex, who scored the goal off of a corner kick.
After such an offensive showcase against the Colonials, Charlotte could not seem to find the back of the net in its double-overtime thriller against the Spiders (3-7-1, 0-1-1 A-10).
Just because the 49ers did not score, does not mean there were not plenty of shots taken. Charlotte took eight shots towards the goal, five of which were stopped by Richmond goalkeeper Brock Tomlinson.
On the other side of the field, 49ers goalkeeper David Martin showed his stopping ability with five saves. For Martin, this was his 22nd career shutout and third of the season.
Gross and Rex led the team in shots taken, both with four a piece. Neither though could find the back of the net which lead to the draw in the overtime match.
With the draw, the 49ers continue their unbeaten streak (now at 10 games). Charlotte will look to maintain this streak when it plays St. Louis on Saturday.
Herb Scribner can be reached at [email protected].
