Oct. 18, 2009

Box Score

Los Angeles - LMU could not take advantage of 13 corner kicks as Saint Mary's scored a late winner on a corner for a 1-0 victory in a West Coast Conference match Sunday afternoon at Sullivan Field. The Lions (6-6-1, 1-3-1 WCC) fall back to .500 for the first time since September 6 while the Gaels (7-1-3, 3-1-1 WCC) become the first visiting team to Sullivan Field this year to record a victory.

The Lions tied their season-high with 13 corner kicks and held a 9-8 shot advantage but it was the Gaels who took advantage of one of their five corner kicks to score the game's only goal in the 81st minute. After winning just their third corner of the match, Dylan Leslie swung in a cross that was met by Malcolm Alugas, who headed between sophomore goalkeeper Jack McCormack and a defender on the line to put Saint Mary's ahead. LMU was unable to get off a shot in the final nine minutes.

LMU had three chances to take the lead in the first half, nearly scoring on its first attempt. Off a 10th minute free kick, senior William Johnson flicked a header toward the far post but Doug Herrick turned it over. Senior Brock Smith then brought a save out of Herrick in the 23rd minute and, two minutes later, sophomore Artur Jozkowicz thought he had given the Lions the lead but his shot from 18 yards skipped just wide of the post.

In the 33rd minute, the Gaels felt that they had broken the deadlock when Trevor Newquist headed in a free kick, but the goal was disallowed for offside. The teams went into the half knotted at zeroes despite LMU out-shooting the Gaels 5-2.

LMU came out firing in the second half, recording back-to-back shots by junior Rafael Baca and sophomore Logan McDaniel, but each was off-target. McDaniel brought out Herrick's third and final save of the match in the 65th minute. McCormack, meanwhile, was doing his best to keep the game tied with a pair of crucial saves, first denying Dominic Smith in the 59th minute and then stopping a header from Yousef Samy in the 73rd minute. McCormack finished with three saves.

The Lions bridge the mid-conference break next week with a pair of matches against league-leading San Diego. On Thursday, the teams battle in San Diego at 7 p.m. They will return to Sullivan Field on Sunday for a 3 p.m. kick-off.