After coming off two “fluke” losses to Davis & Elkins and Pacific, the Saint Louis University field hockey team heads to Palo Alto, Calif., this weekend to take part in the Northern Pacific Conference Tournament.
The Billikens finished the regular season with a 5-10 record. But it probably should have been 7-8. SLU lost to Davis & Elkins 2-0 and Pacific 3-2 on Oct. 24 and 25, squads that SLU should have beaten.
“Those two losses were a fluke,” said coach Shannon West. “They were on grass,” which is a difficult surface to play on.
“Those are definitely disappointing losses.”
Nonetheless, the losses to the two NorPac foes dropped SLU to fifth in the conference standings. That means the Bills have to play fourth-seeded Southwest Missouri State in the conference tourney. The Bills have split two matches with the Bears this season. In a game on Sept. 26, SMS overcame the Billikens in a 5-1 decision. On Oct. 9, SLU got the best of the Bears, handing them a 2-1 loss.
“Our players have improved greatly, and that showed the second time around when we beat them,” West said. “That first loss wasn’t legit.”
The Billikens play the Bears on Friday at 11:30 a.m. If they win, SLU will battle the nationally ranked California Golden Bears on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. The No. 16-ranked Golden Bears hold the No. 1-seed in the tournament and boast a 10-4 overall record and a 5-0 mark in NorPac play.
“They’re the strongest team in the conference,” West said. “But any game isn’t a given in our conference.”
And just as with SMS, West thinks her team stands a good chance against California.
“They could come out and be overconfident with us,” West said.
The Bills faced the Golden Bears in their second game of the season, all the way back on Aug. 29. The Billikens were somewhat disorganized at that time, with West coaching in just her second game.
SLU is paced by Kristen Burich and Lucy Durbin. Burich has tallied nine goals and two assists for 20 points. Durbin has seven goals and five assists for 19 points. Erin Linehan tends the nets for the Billikens. She has posted a 1.84 goals against average in six-and-a-half games.
