Oct. 24, 2004

Box Score

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- The Loyola Marymount men's soccer team came from behind with a goal in the 81st minute to defeat San Diego, 3-2, this afternoon at Sullivan Field. The Toreros took the lead twice, but LMU scored twice in a five minute span to tie the game and take the lead late in the second half. With the win, the Lions remain undefeated atop the WCC standings, sitting at 8-4-3 overall, and 6-0-1 in conference play. San Diego falls to 5-6-3 on the year, 2-3-2 in the WCC.

The Toreros took a quick lead in the game. Michael Caso took an assist from Leon Abravanel and hit a hard shot from 15 yards out to the far post to put USD up 1-0 at 8:22. The Toreros would hold the Lions without a score for the rest of the half, taking a 1-0 lead into halftime.

LMU came out of the break on a tear. Five minutes into the second half, Sean Rhynard took a pass from Matt Kovar and drove through the USD defense. He drove a left-footed shot from the right side to the back post to tie the game at 1-1. The tie would be short lived, as the Toreros took the lead again at 60:59. Ryan Guy sent in a cross from the right side, and Jan Prochaszka shot the ball from close range above LMU goalkeeper Robert Flores to give USD a 2-1 lead.

The Lions had several opportunities to tie the game, as two consecutive headers from Kovar off of corner kicks were cleared off the USD goal line. LMU was finally able to tie the game in the 77th minute, as Matthew Mejia drove down the left side, and placed a perfect cross in front of the goal for Diego Barrera. The freshman forward, who had two goals in Friday's 4-2 win over USD, headed the ball past the USD goalkeeper Lance Friesz to tie the game with 13 minutes to play.

With momentum on their side, the Lions finally took their first lead of the game at 80:23. Michael Brewer threw in the ball to Kovar's head in front of the goal. Kovar flicked the ball to a waiting Melendez, who headed the ball past Friesz for the game-winner.

Melendez and Kovar led LMU with four shots, while Barrera, Bobby Burling, and Tyler Mehl had two shots each. Caso and Prochazka led USD with three shots. LMU outshot 17-12, including a 12-6 advantage in the second half. Friesz made six saves for USD, and Flores made two saves for LMU.

The Lions head north next weekend to play Gonzaga and Portland. LMU defeated both teams 2-0 when they played in Los Angeles during the first weekend of October.

San Diego (5-6-3, 2-3-2) vs. Loyola Marymount (8-4-3, 6-0-1)
 Date: Oct 24, 2004  Attendance: 428
 Weather: sunny, clear, 75 degrees
 Goals by period       		1  2  Tot
 -------------------------------
 San Diego...........  		1  1 -  2
 Loyola Marymount....  	        0  3 -  3
 SCORING SUMMARY:
  1.   8:22 USD CASO, Michael (ABRAVANEL, Leon) - shot from 15 yards far side
  2.  50:45 LMU Rhynard, Sean (4) (Kovar, Matt) - dribbled through defense, hard shot from 18 yards out
  3.  60:59 USD PROCHAZKA, Jan (GUY, Ryan) - shot from 5 yards, top of goal
  4.  76:28 LMU Barrera, Diego (4) (Mejia, Matthew) - header from cross
  5.  80:23 LMU Melendez, Armando (5) (Kovar, Matt; Brewer, Michael) - header from throw-in deflection
 Shots: San Diego 12, Loyola Marymount 17
 Saves: San Diego 6 (FRIESZ, Lance 6), Loyola Marymount 2 (Flores, Robert 2)

-GO LIONS-