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Bulldogs Fall 2-1 At LMU On Early Overtime Goal
Oct. 12, 2008
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Wilkie Johnson's header 1:56 into overtime gave Loyola Marymount University a 2-1 West Coast Conference men's soccer victory over Gonzaga University Sunday at Sullivan Field. Johnson's goal off a cross from Alex Greenman helped the Lions (4-3-4, 2-1-0) maintain their recent mastery over the Bulldogs. LMU has now won eight of the last 11 meetings in the series the Bulldogs (5-6-1, 2-3-0) still lead 11-9-1. The last road win for Gonzaga in the series was 3-2 in 2005. After winning a corner on the right side, Greenman sent the left-footed cross and Johnson timed his leap perfectly from inside the 6-yard box for his first goal of the season. The team battled through a scoreless first half and the Lions got on the scoreboard first in the second half. Rafael Baca's shot from 20 yards beat Gonzaga keeper Andrew Hickman to the upper right corner at 76:37. Hickman, who had four saves, was making his first appearance in goal since starting the season opener at second-ranked Creighton University. Gonzaga pulled even at 85:23 when Tye Perdido took a cross from the top by Ben Funkhouser and found the lower corner to beat LMU's Patrick Sampson. It was Perdido's team-leading fifth goal of the season and Funkhouser's fourth assist to pace the club. Funkhouser caught the Lion defense off-guard with a ball over the top to Perdido, who brought the ball down on his chest and slotted it past Sampson for the equalizer. Prior to Baca's goal, LMU had three golden chances to take the lead. Da Silva nearly opened the scoring in the 32nd minute, heading off the post. Five minutes later, Hickman produced a fine save to keep out junior Brad Stisser's free kick. In the second half, freshman Artur Jozkowicz got in behind Hickman but had his shot cleared off the line by a defender.
Gonzaga's best chance came barely a minute after Da Silva hit the post, when Zach Smith¹s left-footed attempt from 18 yards bounced back off the post. LMU held a staggering 21-10 shots advantage and a 7-4 edge in shots on goal. Sampson had three of his saves for the Lions in the first half. Gonzaga, which dropped both matches on its southern California swing following a 3-0 loss at the University of San Diego Friday, has just one match this coming week when Saint Mary's College visits Friday for a 3 p.m. match at Gonzaga Soccer Field. |
