Sept. 2, 2005
Box Score
CHICAGO - The veterans made the difference for Gonzaga University as the Bulldogs opened the 2005 men's soccer season with a 3-2 victory over host Loyola University on Friday.
The match, played at Concordia University because installation of new turf at Loyola's field wasn't completed in time, was the opener of the Fr. Leo Sweeny Jesuit Cup being hosted by the Ramblers. The University of Detroit Mercy and Xavier University met in the late match.
Luke Miller, George Josten and Grant Lundberg each had a goal and an assist to propel the Bulldogs. Josten's goal at 72:50 proved to be the difference, Miller getting the assist on the tap-in off the counterattack to give the Bulldogs a 3-1 lead. Josten, a sophomore from Idaho Falls, Idaho, tied for the team lead in goals a year ago with five.
Miller, a junior from Sandpoint, Idaho, who had two goals and an assist last season, opened the scoring at 23:54 as he took Lundberg's left-to-right cross and buried a shot from 6 yards, giving Gonzaga a 1-0 halftime lead.
The Ramblers knotted the match at 51:23 as Lee Zarzecki's header beat Bulldog keeper Vito Higgins, making his first start in goal since 2003 as he sat out last season with a viral condition.
Lundberg, a sophomore from Spokane who played the first three matches a year ago before being sidelined with mononucleosis, regained the lead for Gonzaga when he took Josten's low cross for a tap-in at 58:05. The Bulldogs almost got some added insurance following Lundberg's goal as Scott Campbell hit the crossbar at 61:08.
Matt Marek pulled the home team to within a goal at 74:07, his 10-yard header the final score of the match.
Higgins made nine saves for the Bulldogs while Sean Bond had three saves for Loyola. The Ramblers held a 16-13 shots advantage.
While the veterans saw most of the action on Friday, Gonzaga head coach Einar Thorarinsson started a pair of newcomers. Sophomore defender Austin Washington, a product of Spokane's Ferris High who transferred from nearby Whitworth College, and freshman midfielder Bryan Mullaney from Portland, Ore., got starting nods. Freshman forward Foday Kabba, also from Portland, and redshirt freshman midfielder Conor Baranski of Hope, Idaho, saw action off the bench.
Gonzaga will face Detroit at 10 a.m. PDT on Sunday.
