Spartans Score Late, Stay Undefeated by Knocking off Conference Rival SLUH

TOWN AND COUNTRY -- Forgive junior Kevin Lewman for not coming up with some sort of lavish, creative celebration. He doesn't score any goals to work on them.

But Lewman came up with the most opportune time for his first-ever goal. It turned out to be the game-winner Tuesday in the Spartans' 2-1 victory over Metro Catholic Conference rival SLUH in the CBC Round Robin Tournament at W. Michael Ross Stadium.

Lewman, who came off the bench and was playing right midfield, stepped into the penalty box and knocked a hard, low shot past Jr. Billikens goalie Guillaume Delabar with 4 minutes 6 seconds remaining to break a 1-all tie in a match that seemed destined to end in a tie.

"I think it just kind of happened, so I didn't have anything planned," Lewman said with a smile. "But it felt great, especially coming against SLUH. They're one of the better teams in the area. I'm just glad it helped us come up with the win."

Veteran De Smet coach Greg Vitello added, "That was great, wasn't it? But you see, that's the kind of kid he is. He's just a terrific kid. He's a role player. He sat patiently, waited, waited and waited for his time and then he capitalized."

It was a match that the Spartans (3-0) led early but didn't seem like they were playing their best soccer. Prince Kabadeh opened the scoring and gave De Smet a 1-0 lead just 5:02 into the match, but SLUH (2-1) carried much of the territorial advantage and possession throughout the first half and in the early portions of the second.

"After the first half, we should have been down 4-0," said Vitello, whose team was going against a pretty stiff wind the first half. "That's how well St. Louis U. High was playing. I kept thinking, 'Was this the wind?' I guess it kind of was. But I thought our effort the second half was pretty good.

"We talked at halftime about getting the ball to our strikers and playing it to their feet and we couldn't get it to them the whole first half. The second half we were a little more successful with that."

That effort finally paid off for the Jr. Billikens, as senior Ryan Merrifield knotted the score at 1-1 with a side volley past Spartans keeper Jake Koenig from close range on a feed from Paul Buehler 6:42 into the second half.

But the Spartans, on the advice from their coach, began to get balls from their backs and mids to the strikers and started gaining the possession battle until Lewman was able to break the tie that began off a throw-in.

"It was a great opportunity," Lewman said. "The ball rolled right to me and I thought, 'Why not take a hit at it?' We kind of work on that stuff, clean up shots and stuff like that. It's one of those things that happens and we work on it because of that opportunity right there."

The Spartans are off to the kind of start Vitello has been searching for, as they've outscored their three opponents 10-2. But early in the season, it's still a feeling-out process.

"They're still trying to develop a personality," Vitello said. "I think one of the things is they're a good, close-knit group and they work hard all the time. We have not really had a bad practice. They know what it takes."

SLUH came into the contest at #7 in the Powerade Fab50 national rankings. De Smet debuted in the poll this week at #48. The Spartans take on #17 CBC Thursday.

CBC ROUND ROBIN TOURNAMENT

DE SMET 2, SLUH 1

SLUH       0  1  --  1

De Smet  1  1  --  2

Scoring

First Half

D -- Kabadeh (unassisted), 5:02

Second Half

S -- Merrifield (Buehler), 46:42

D -- Lewman (L. Berra), 75:54

Stats

Shots: SLUH 6, De Smet 10

Corners: SLUH 6, De Smet 4

Fouls: SLUH 14, De Smet 9

Goalkeepers/Saves: Delabar (SLUH) 3 saves; Koenig (De Smet) 4 saves).