Saint Louis Claims 2003 C-USA Men's Soccer Tournament Title
11.17.2003
Saint Louis Claims 2003 C-USA Men's Soccer Tournament Title
For the second consecutive week the 2003 Conference USA Soccer Championship was decided on penalty kicks and this time it was the men’s crown up for grabs. Second-seeded Saint Louis (13-3-3) and fourth-seeded Charlotte (7-9-4) played to a 2-2 double-overtime tie with the match decided 5-4 on penalty kicks in favor of the Billikens at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex. This is SLU’s fourth straight tournament title and sixth overall. Saint Louis receives the league’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, which begins Friday, Nov. 21 at campus sites throughout the nation. The field of 48 teams will be announced on Monday, Nov. 17 at 4 p.m. (ET) on ESPNEWS. “We’ve overcome all kinds of adversity on the road this season,” Billiken head coach Dan Donigan said. “Winning the conference tournament on penalty kicks is another incredible experience. We gave a huge amount of credit to Charlotte because their season was on the line and they played their hearts out.” Charlotte’s Joe Lampert opened the scoring column early with a tally in the first two minutes of the contest. Sean Zubick put the ball in play on a corner kick, finding Lampert for the header from four yards out. Vedad Ibisevic scored the first of his two goals on the day when he dribbled through the defense and fired in to the net in the 38th minute to tie the game at 1-1. In second half, he would score his sixth goal of the tournament in 73rd minute, again threading his way through a pair of Charlotte defenders and launching a volley to the right post from 20-yards out. The 49ers response came in the 75th minute on a 20-yard free kick by Floyd Franks, which split the Billiken wall and curved into the goal. After regulation and two overtime frames, the resolution would be the penalty-kick format. The first round of penalty kicks also resulted in 3-3 tie, sending the match to a sudden-victory second round. Charlotte’s Evan Harding and Alex Matteson of Saint Louis each converted their attempts forcing two more shooters. The 49ers’ Juan Munoz-Airey had his try sail high over the crossbar opening the door for SLU’s Brian Grazier, who sealed the title with a successful conversion. “I’m disappointed for our players,” 49er head coach John Tart said. “Especially the way we played in the last three games. Saint Louis is a very good team and this was a quality championship game.” Ibisevic, who also had an assist in the tournament, headlined the all-tournament team, which featured fellow Billikens Andy Pusateri, Nick Gannon and Martin Hutton. Also earning tournament accolades were Charlotte’s Franks, Lucas Mackanos and Joe Lampert and from the other semifinal teams Josh Gardner and Tim Brown of Cincinnati and Jason McLaughlin and Lenandro de Oliveira of UAB.
Saint Louis clinches the 2003 Conference USA title, 5-4, on penalty kicks. CHA – Joe Lampert, from Floyd Franks and Sean Zubick, 1:47
Shots on Goal: CHA 13, SLU 13
2003 Conference USA All-Tournament Team
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