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Nov. 9, 2008

Box Score

SPOKANE, Wash. - Gonzaga University finds itself atop the West Coast Conference men's soccer standings following a nail biting 2-1 victory over Loyola Marymount University Sunday in the final home match of the season at Gonzaga Soccer Field.

Gonzaga's win, the University of San Diego's 3-2 loss at the University of Portland and the University of San Francisco's 1-0 double-overtime win at Saint Mary's College left the Bulldogs and USF tied atop the standings with 19 points, one ahead of USD. Gonzaga (6-4-1) has just one match remaining next Sunday at SMC. USD (6-4-0) has home matches Friday with USF (6-3-1) and Sunday against Santa Clara University, while USF is at LMU Friday in addition to Sunday's critical finale at USD.

"It was a match of two halves," Gonzaga head coach Einar Thorarinsson said after his Bulldogs held on to gain the victory. "I thought our inexperience showed today. We didn't do a good job of controlling the possession to protect the lead. I think we felt the pressure a little bit."

Gonzaga has won four straight matches to claw back into the WCC hunt, and every match the last two weeks has taken on the importance of a playoff match.

The Bulldogs grabbed a 2-0 halftime lead on goals within 2:07 of each other. Tim Muravez got his third goal of the season when he took a pass from Nick Barclay and buried a shot from 12 yards straightaway into the right side of the net at 31:58. The second tally came from Nick Barclay when Tye Perdido, who had drawn the defense to him deep in the zone, made a tap back to Barclay who was wide open for the easy 8-footer and his first goal of the season.

Had it not been for Gonzaga keeper Scott Barnum the Lions would have cut the deficit in half by halftime, but Barnum stopped Brad Stisser's penalty kick at 19:44, the low, hard shot tipped to the his left and through the end line.

Shot number six of the second half finally got the Lions back into the contest. Logan McDaniel took a cross from Rafael Baca to the left side and shot to the far post from 16 yards to beat Gonzaga keeper Scott Barnum at 67:50.

The Lions had to play the final 10 minutes shorthanded when Roger Downes picked up his second yellow card of the afternoon - that one for language - for the automatic red card, but it didn't deter the Lions from keeping the pressure on the Bulldogs. And the Lions had some good looks at the equalizer.

Stisser broke down the right wing all along in the 79th minutes but he shanked a shot from the top of 18 right and past the end line. Less than two minutes later Wilkie Johnson had a shot from 10 yards out in traffic that went wide left. Perhaps the hardest shot of the match came in the final minute when Stisser took a hard shot from 22 yards that caught Gonzaga midfielder Collin Harrison flush in the upper body, a thud that was heard throughout the field.

The Lions also had a couple of solid chances earlier in the half. Barnum made a good save off a Tyler Krumpe attempt at 50:11, Krumpe gaining possession on the right wing on a Gonzaga turnover and dribbling in for a low, hard shot from inside the top of the 18 that Barnum saved. Five minutes later Downes had a tough header off a corner kick that Barnum thwarted to the near post for one of his five saves.

The Bulldogs had three other scoring chances in the first half, but solid saves by LMU keeper Jack McCormack kept the Lions within striking distance. Perdido's shot from the left side of the 6 was saved at the post early in the match, Ben Funkhouser had a close-range shot tipped wide right by McCormack in the 19th minute and McCormack made a diving stop of Nick Love's hard shot from 8 yards from the right side just minutes prior to the Bulldogs first goal for one of his four saves in the match.

The physical contest saw 12 yellow cards issued with all seven LMU cards coming in the second half.