University of Louisville
SYRACUSE
25th Ranked Men's Soccer Posts Third Consecutive Shutout
October 20, 2007 | Men's Soccer
Oct. 20, 2007
Louisville, Ky. - The 25th ranked Louisville men's soccer team posted their third straight shutout with a 1-0 win over Syracuse Saturday evening in Cardinal Park. The Cardinals improved to 9-4-1 overall and 5-2-1 in BIG EAST play while Syracuse drops to 5-5-4 overall and 2-5-0 in league play.
"I thought tonight's game was very workman like," said head coach Ken Lolla. "We were able to keep up the offensive pressure on them and were rewarded with a very good goal. While OT scored the goal I thought it was a good team effort. I am proud of these guys for what they have done this week with winning two league games at home. Our focus now is simply on getting better."
The first half ended in a scoreless tie. Louisville had a chance to score a goal in the 37th minute when Syracuse's goalkeeper came out of the goal mouth and Aaron Clapham got ahead of him but the Orange's defenders came up with the save. The Cardinals finished the half with a 9-1 shot advantage. The Cardinal defense held the Orange without a shot on goal in the first half.
The Cardinal attack started the second half with a lot of pressure to the Syracuse defense. Several shots went just wide or just high. Then in the 67th minute the pressure paid off. Clapham crossed the ball from the right side of the box to Othaniel Yanez who found the net from right in front of the box.
The Cardinal defense held tough against a Syracuse offense. The Orange's best shot at tying the game was in the 81st minute but David Simolike jumped up to make the save for his sixth shutout of the season. Louisville finished the game with a 19-5 shot advantage. Simolike finished with two saves while Syracuse's Robert Cavicchia finished with one.
The Cardinals will be back in action on Wednesday, Oct. 24 as they travel to DePaul.
