University of Memphis Athletics
University of Memphis
#20 Saint Louis
Men's Soccer Drops Overtime Thriller to Billikens, 1-0
Oct 28, 2000 | Men's Soccer
Oct. 28, 2000
MEMPHIS, TENN. - The Saint Louis Billikens (10-3-2, 5-1-1) received five cautions fifteen mintues into the second half, two of which were red card infractions with Brad Davis being sent off and also Head Coach Bob Warming being ejected, as well. Despite playing a man down for a little over 42 minutes, the Billikens managed to hand the University of Memphis Tiger soccer team (11-5-0, 5-3-0) its most heartbreaking loss of the season, escaping with a 1-0 win.
The match remained scoreless at the end of regulation, until the 103rd minute when Davis took a pass from Joe Hammes from 10 yards out and beat Tiger goalkeeper Clark Talley, for the game-winner. A win for Memphis would have clinched the Conference USA regular season title and would have also guaranteed the #1 seed in the C-USA tournament which begins in less than two weeks.
This match was a see-saw battle for the majority of the game but also featured supurb goaltending by Talley and also Billiken goalkeeper John Politis. Politis finished with nine saves, including three point-blank Tiger shots which he turned away for SLU's fifth C-USA win and 10th overall victory. Talley wasn't much farther behind, registering five saves on a total of eight Billiken shots. The Tigers finished with 17 shots but never managed to beat Politis.
In the 59th minute, Davis was sent off because of a re-entry infraction and then seconds later the Billiken coaching staff received cautions, as well with Warming being ejected for arguing the call with the head referee. After a 10 minute stoppage in play, the game eventually resumed with the Tigers trying to capitolize on the man advantage. Memphis, despite a few key opportunities, was thwarted on each attempt by Politis and eventually fell after nearly two-and-a-half hours of action.
Memphis' three strikers including juniors Sean Fraser, Lars Thorstensen and senior Tommy White (Germantown H.S.) each had brilliant scoring chances in the second half but were denied each time by Politis.
The Tigers will now re-group and await the outcomes of the remaining C-USA matches before they will be advised of their seeding in the conference tournament.
Memphis' next match will be across town, against the Buccaneers of Christian Brothers on Wednesday, November 1st at 7:30 p.m. at Signiago Field.
