Weather does not damper Cougar's day
Men's soccer comes away with 1-0 homecoming victory in sloppy conditions
Clay Beyersdorfer
Issue date: 10/13/09 Section: Sports
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Despite the cold, rainy weather, the Cougars managed to pull out a win over Alabama A&M University, with a final score of 1-0.
The lone goal in the game between both teams was scored at 65:17. Kevin Bielicki stole the ball from the left side of the box from about 25 yards out. Alabama A&M goalkeeper Paul Musoke managed to block Bielicki's shot, but could not handle it as it deflected off of his hands in front of SIUE forward Chris Anzalone, who rocketed a shot from five yards out to make the score 1-0.
"That's just what happens in soccer, you get a bounce like that, and luckily tonight it went our way," Anzalone said.
Those two shots on goal were just a sliver of what the SIUE brought to the table Friday night, as they outshot the Bulldogs from A&M 17-6.
SIUE's defense held strong for the rest of the game, led by goalkeeper Scott Meyer, who posted his second straight shutout.
"I give credit to the defense and the rest of the team," Meyer said. "We all played hard, and that can be tough to do in sloppy nights like tonight."
Head Coach Kevin Kalish was also happy with his team's performance.
"It was great to get the win on a sloppy night like this," Kalish said. "We had to play through some adversity due to the weather, and the guys were really excited because of homecoming and everything. Overall, I'm happy with the win."
Unfortunately the festivities didn't last too long for the Cougars, as they had to pack their bags and travel to Ohio Sunday afternoon to take on Cleveland State University.
The team may have been a little too excited from all the festivities from back home, as Cleveland State provided more of a challenge on their home turf.
SIUE played the opposition close all the way into overtime, the third time they have played an overtime match in the past six games.
This time however, Cleveland State pulled out with a victory, sending the Cougars home with a loss of 1-0.
The goal came four minutes into overtime off the foot of CSU's Aaron Adkins, who booted one in from about 10 yards out past diving goalkeeper Scott Meyer.
"Give Scott credit. He has continued to play well as the season progresses. He shut them out for two whole halves," Kalish said. "Our offense needed to find a way to put one in, and we had plenty of chances. The team is young and we're continuing to train and work toward getting better every day."
The Cougars come home to play two games this week, with a match against Centenary College on Tuesday, and again on Saturday against Indiana University-Purdue University-Fort Wayne. Kickoff for both games is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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