The Saint Louis University women’s soccer season wasn’t supposed to end this soon. After winning the Conference USA regular season championship in Houston last Friday, the Billikens were supposed to win a few games in the C-USA Tournament and receive the program’s first NCAA Tournament berth.
But the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles had other ideas. The Golden Eagles came into the first round matchup with the Billikens sporting a 9-8-1 overall record and a 4-6-1 C-USA mark.
Yet Southern Mississippi gave the Bills fits all night in the match, as they handed SLU a 2-1 loss last night in Farmer’s Branch, Texas.
The loss was the Billiken’s first in the past 10 games.
The Bills struck first in the 12th minute. Trisha Underberg recovered a bouncing ball at the top right corner of the box. She moved into the box and hit a diagonal shot just inside the left post.
Underberg’s goal tied two women’s soccer program records. She tied the SLU records with 11 goals and 26 points in a season.
Southern Miss tied the game with 30 seconds remaining in the first half. Stacey Hall controlled the ball outside the box. Hall made it around Kelly Young and faked Meghann Burke. Hall took a shot that went across the face of the goal and angled it into the goal.
The teams went in at the half, tied 1-1.
Southern Miss took the lead five minutes into the second half. Lindsay Canham recovered a bouncing ball in the box.
Burke came out to meet Canham, who took a low shot. The ball rolled under the length of Burke’s body and angled into the net.
The Bills dominated the second half, outshooting Southern Miss, six to three. Southern Miss made six saves, many in spectacular fashion.
Coach Tim Champion said, “We played hard tonight. We had a lot of the chances we wanted, but couldn’t get the results we were looking for. Southern Miss played a solid game and capitalized on the opportunities we gave them.
“It’s certainly disappointing after the season we’ve had, but I’m proud of the way the team played the entire game.”
Even though the Bills lost, they still have a chance to make the NCAA Tournament. The tournament consists of 48 teams, with 20-25 at-large bids.
The Bills have to wait until Sunday to see if the NCAA Tournament will continue their season.
