Tom Timmermann
St. Louis University's offensive struggles returned at the wrong time, as it was shut out for the third time in the past four games and was eliminated from the NCAA men's soccer tournament with a 2-0 loss to Kansas City on a chilly, windy Thursday night at Hermann Stadium.
Though SLU had more chances, Kansas City got the game's first goal, scoring off a corner kick in the 67th minute. With SLU pushing to tie, Kansas City got a second goal in the 83rd minute.
SLU finished its season with an 8-5-8 record. Next up for Kansas City is a match with Missouri State, the No. 15 seed, on Sunday in Springfield, Missouri, with kickoff at 6:30 p.m.
SLU had made it to the finals of the Atlantic 10 tournament but did it by scoring only two goals. It advanced from the first round on penalty kicks after a 0-0 tie, then won in the second round 2-1. It was shut out in the final 3-0 by Dayton.
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The play was set in motion by a handball call on SLU's Jackson Delkus, which referee Alex Beehler ruled happened closest to the penalty area that was possible without being inside it. (Delkus also got a yellow card on the play.)
Kansas City's free kick, from about 15 yards out, hit the SLU wall and went out for a corner kick. The corner, by Julien Le Bourdoulous, was on target and defender Guille Munoz leapt and headed the ball in from a few yards out. It was the first career goal for Munoz, a sophomore from Madrid.
With SLU throwing bodies forward to get the equalizer, Jeremy Francou took a pass from Elie Kisoka at the top of the box and had time to settle the ball before firing it from 18 yards out for his fourth goal of the season.
In a goal-less first half, SLU had most of the chances, but its nine shots weren't very threatening and Kansas City goalkeeper Brandon McGaugh had to make only three saves, two of them on shots by Max Floriani, playing right back. It was an even easier half for SLU goalkeeper Jeremi Abonnel, who made only one save in the first half.
SIUE eliminated
Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, playing on a snow-covered field in Kalamazoo, Michigan, was knocked out of the NCAAs in the first round, losing to Western Michigan 5-1 on Thursday.
The trouble for the Cougars began even before the game, when starting goalkeeper Rob Gjelaj, the Ohio Valley Conference goalkeeper of the year, was injured in warmups and backup Ethan Kornas, who had appeared in only three games all season, starting only one, was thrust into action.
With the field on a layer of snow, except for the penalty areas and sidelines, which had been shoveled, and a neon yellow ball, SIUE fell behind in the third minute, trailed 2-0 at the half and didn't score until the 71st minute, when the Cougars were down 4-0. Pavel Dashin converted a penalty kick after being fouled in the box.
Division II tourney starts Friday
The Division II women's tournament starts on Friday, with a doubleheader at Maryville. In the first game, at 10 a.m., Missouri-St. Louis faces Grand Valley (Michigan) State, followed at 1 p.m. by Maryville, the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Regional, vs. McKendree. The winners will meet Sunday at 1 p.m at Maryville.
Other regional teams in the field are Central Missouri, the No. 1 seed in the Central Regional, which will play Ouachita Baptist in Warrensburg. Missouri Western, the No. 3 seed in the Central, will play Concordia-St. Paul in Mankato, Minnesota.
Maryville and McKendree also qualified for the men's Division II tournament. Maryville, the No. 3 seed, will host Findlay on Saturday, and McKendree, the No. 2 seed, will host the winner of a match between Fort Hays State and Davenport on Sunday.
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