Aug. 23, 2004

Men's soccer opens 2004 European Tour with a pair of wins in London. LONDON (Aug. 23) - The Loyola Marymount University men's soccer team got down to business in their first days during the 2004 European Tour that began in London on Thursday, Aug. 19. With no more than 24 hours to recover from the flight the Lions got off to a great start with in their first game on Friday and then did it again on Sunday to start trip 2-0. The Lions tour began where the women's soccer team finished theirs, in the heart of London. Both teams actually ran into one another as the men's team started with sight seeing in London. The next morning LMU got to business. The first game resulted in a 4-0 shutout of Stevenage Borough in London. Head Coach Paul Krumpe was pleased how his team got going despite the long flight. "This was a good start to the trip and we played well." Staring for the Lions was sophomore Diego Souza. The Torrance, Calif., native finished the game with two goals and an assist in the win. Senior Armando Melendez opened the scoring early in the first on a 30-year free kick before Souza knocked in a rebound from seniors Matt Kovar and Sean Rhynard to put the Lions up 2-0 at the break. They would get two more in the second, the first coming on a penalty kick by Souza. Freshman Tony Chinakwe drew the penalty to set-up Souza's goal. Souza was involved on the final goal, earning an assist on a 15-yard goal by freshman Tyler Mehl. Following the 4-0-shutout win in which goalie Shaun Kalnasy and Robert Flores each earned a shutout; the Lions went to the famous Globe Theatre for a performance of Measure for Measure that evening. Saturday began with a morning training session and then more tours of London, including Buckingham Palace. That evening the team went to an English Premier League contest between Charlton and Portsmouth. Sunday was spent at the Tower of London, Parliament Square and Trafalgar Square before heading off to the second game of the trip. The Lions earned a 4-2 win over Gravesend & Northfleet to start the trip 2-0. Gravesend started the scoring at the 15-minute mark to go up 1-0. Kovar would answer during injury time in the closing seconds of the first half on a header during a corner kick. Earning assists on the equalizer was freshman Diego Barrera and Melendez. Just five minutes into the second half Melendez put the Lions up 2-1 with a shot from about eight yards out. Barrera earned another assist, as did Chinakwe on the goal. Gravesend would tie the score at 2-2 before Bobby Burling would draw a penalty to set up Barrera with an opportunity on a penalty kick. The freshman would connect to put the Lions up for good, 3-2. The Lions would score again on another goal by Melendez, his third of the trip at the 75:00 mark of the game. "This was another good win for us," said Krumpe. "Now it is off to Italy." LMU will travel to Milan, Italy, before playing in their fourth game against GS San Paolo on Tuesday. Follow the entire trip on www.LMULions.com. - GO LIONS -