The Saint Louis men’s soccer team now finds itself in sole possession of the No. 1 spot in the Atlantic 10 Conference standings after a 3-1 victory over Temple in Philadelphia on Sunday.
The Bilikens (11-3-0, 5-1-0 A-10) were led by junior forward Adnan Gabeljic, who had a hand in all three of SLU’s goals by scoring one himself and assisting on the other two.
The Billikens opened up the scoring when sophomore midfielder Raymond Lee deflected a Gabeljic shot into the back of the net in the game’s 39th minute.
SLU found the back of the net early in the second half as freshman midfielder David Graydon kicked home the game’s second goal off of a Gabeljic pass.
Gabeljic eventually made it a 3-0 game, scoring in the 77th minute. His four-point outing marks a new career-high and he now ranks third on the team with 11 points (four goals and three assists).
Temple (7-5-3, 3-1-2 A-10) ended any hopes of a Billiken shutout in the 84th minute when Owls forward Jared Martinelli finally put the home team on the scoreboard . The loss marks Temple’s first defeat to an A-10 opponent.
SLU faces a stern challenge next Friday evening as it plays host to No. 22 Charlotte, while the Owls travel to Fordham.
Xavier defeats St. Bonaventure, remains unbeaten
Xavier came from behind on Friday evening to secure a hard-fought, 2-1 win over St. Bonaventure.
Nick Hagglund broke a 1-1 tie in the 70th minute to give the 13th-ranked Musketeers the lead and the game as Xavier remains unbeaten on the season. Maryland is the only other undefeated team in the nation.
The Musketeers (10-0-4, 3-0-2 A-10) fell behind in the 24th minute when Bonnies (4-11-0, 2-3-0 A-10) forward Brad Vanino fired a shot on net. Though Xavier goalkeeper Justin Marshall turned it away, he was helpless to prevent forward James Reed from capitalizing on the ensuing rebound and tapping the ball into a gaping net.
The Musketeers quickly responded almost 10 minutes later when Luke Spencer made good on a penalty kick in the 34th minute to knot things up at one apiece. Xavier won the game despite being outshot 13-8 in total shots and 7-3 in shots on goal.
The Musketeers will be on the road again next weekend as they will play matches against Virginia Commonwealth and Richmond on Friday and Saturday, respectively. St. Bonaventure also hits the road when it travels to Massachusetts on Friday and Rhode Island on Sunday.
Dayton holds off late rally, tops Duquesne
Though things got a little interesting during the late stages of the game, Dayton escaped with a 2-1 victory over Duquesne on Sunday in Pittsburgh.
The Flyers (8-4-1, 2-2-1 A-10) wasted very little time in drawing first blood, scoring a mere 8:26 into the contest on an Abe Kellner corner kick. Being in the right place at the right time paid great dividends for graduate student Eddie Jones, who pounced on a loose ball at the mouth of the Duquesne goal in the ensuing chaos and put Dayton ahead, 1-0.
Dayton struck again about 30 minutes later when senior Daniel Berko out-sprinted the Dukes (5-9-1, 2-2-1 A-10) defense to score a breakaway goal with 6:57 to go in the first half.
Duquesne’s persistence was eventually rewarded in the 84th minute when Dukes defender Adam Clement headed a cross by Nathan McCann into the back of the Flyers net. It would prove to be too little, too late, however, as Dayton eventually held onto the lead.
Duquesne was the more offensively active team, outshooting the Flyers 22-16, but Dukes goalkeeper Sam Frymier was a little busier than his counterpart, as Dayton enjoyed a 10-8 shots-on-goal advantage.
The Flyers’ next challenge comes against Richmond next Friday evening while Duquesne travels to play Rhode Island.
Michael Downs can be reached at [email protected].
