Gonzaga University
Loyola Marymnt
Bulldog Men's Soccer Drops Snow Bowl 3-0
11/2/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Nov. 2, 2003
SPOKANE, Wash. - It may not rival the Ice Bowl of NFL fame, but Loyola Marymount University's 3-0 West Coast Conference men's soccer victory over Gonzaga University may well be remembered as the Snow Bowl.
On a day when the match-time temperature was 29 degrees and about an inch of snow covered Martin Field, the Lions (10-6-1; 2-3-0) completed their Northwest sweep with a second straight shutout in handing the Bulldogs (5-9-1; 0-4-0) their sixth straight setback.
The Gonzaga game management crew did a commendable job in getting the 18-yard box at both ends of the field hand shoveled prior to the start of the match, and light snow flurries fell throughout the first half that saw LMU take a 1-0 lead into intermission.
What proved to be the match-winning goal came at 36:13 from Danny Williams, his fourth goal of the season, on a header off a corner from Junior Ybarra who collected his first of two assists for the match. Gonzaga keeper Vito Higgins had little chance as Ybarra fed a perfect ball to Williams who directed a perfect header into the net.
The Lions put the match away late when Salvador Diaz got his second goal of the season, a rebound effort in front of the net at 77:52. The final goal came at 83:10 as Armando Melendez scored his second goal of the season as the ball was batted around in the box following a header from Michael Erush and a pass from Matthew Kovar found Melendez, who got the ball out of the scramble at the goal line and put it past Higgins through a maze of players.
Despite the field conditions both teams had some excellent scoring chances thwarted. One of the best scoring opportunities of the day for the Bulldogs came at 12:58 when Scott Yuska's free kick from 20 yards was a high shot that LMU keeper Shaun Kalnasy was able to get a hand on and tip over the cross bar, one of his three saves in recording his second shutout of the weekend and fourth of the season. Yuska also had a solid chance when he took a through ball from Mike Herzog at 18:02 but could not get a shot away.
The Bulldogs avoided a 2-0 deficit at 17:27 when a soft shot by Matthew Mejia was ticketed for the net only to be knocked out of harms way by the defense. Gonzaga's Scott Bertram missed the left side of the net when his shot from the left wing sailed high at 67:14 as the Bulldogs were pressing to tie.
Higgins's only save of the match came just prior to the Diaz goal when Kovar's header off a free kick was tipped away by Higgins at the last second.
The match was the final home appearance of the season for the Bulldogs, who complete the season with matches next Saturday at Saint Mary's College and Nov. 15 at the University of San Francisco. Seniors Scott Bertram, Scott Yuska and Charles Wells played their Martin Field finale on Sunday.
