Sept. 10, 2006

Box Score

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- The Navy men's soccer team was shut out for the third time this year, as No. 18-ranked Saint Louis University held the Mids to just four shots offensively in a 2-0 blanking on Sunday afternoon. The loss drops Navy's record to 3-3-0, while Saint Louis improves to 2-2-1 overall.

The blanking continued a familiar pattern for Navy in 2006. In games in which Navy has scored since the start of last year, the Mids are 11-1-1. In games in which Navy has been shut out, it is 0-8-1.

The Billikens got on the board midway through the first half when preseason All-American John DiRaimondo converted on a penalty kick following a Navy foul in the box in the 33rd minute to give Saint Louis a 1-0 advantage. DiRaimondo calmly drilled the penalty kick into the lower left corner after Saint Louis' Dan Guffey was fouled going after a header on a corner kick.

Saint Louis increased the lead to 2-0 in the 66th minute when Kyle Patterson scored after a restart on the right flank. After stopping the initial shot on the restart, the Billikens sent the ball back into the box where Dado Hamzagic got a piece of the ball, before Patterson found the back of the net.

The Mids had a chance to crawl back into the game in the 75th minute when Navy's leading scorer, senior McKenzie Plank (Mountain View, Calif.), was awarded a penalty kick. However, Saint Louis' goalkeeper made the save of the game, diving to his right to stop Plank's shot and keep the Mids off the board. Saint Louis was then able to run out the clock for its second win of the season.

Saint Louis dominated statistically, outshooting the Mids, 17-4, including 8-0 in the first half. The Billikens drew four corner kicks to Navy's three, and Navy was whistled for 20 fouls compared to only 12 for St. Louis. Evan Barnes suffered the loss in goal, stopping four shots for Navy.

The Mids will be back in action on Wednesday night, when they travel to Delaware for a 7:00 p.m. kick-off.

# GO NAVY #