(Photo by Steve Olson of SGFsoccer.com)
The Missouri State Bears (12-5-2) fell to the St. Louis University Billikens 2-1 Thursday Night in the First Round of the NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Tournament. The Bears found themselves down 2-0 in the first 20 minutes of the game. They cut the lead to 2-1 with a Goal in the 50th minute by former Kickapoo standout Heath Melugin. Despite outshooting the Billikens 22-5, the Bears couldn’t get the equaliser.
The loss ends the Bears season and the great collegiate career of former Zizzer Nick Dryden. Dryden ends his career having played 67 Games as a Back, while making 53 starts. In his career, Nick scored 4 Goals, including 2 Game Winners, and added 1 Assist for a total of 9 Points. Congrats to Nick on an outstanding collegiate career! You make West Plains proud! Congrats to the Bears on a great season including their 3rd NCAA Tournament appearance! The 23rd ranked Billikens advance to face Tulsa on Sunday in Tulsa.
It was tough and the officiating left a little to be desired but it went both ways. They did a poor job of controlling the game and it got a little out of hand. We outplayed them the entire game and were definitely the better team but the final score is what counts.
You should have listened to the SLU announcers on the video feed. Definitely biased. They were a little better in the second half. The game they called and the game I saw were totally different.