The Saint Louis University field hockey team was on the road this past weekend to take on two nonconference opponents: Louisville and Indiana.
Looking to strengthen the defensive line, head coach Shannon West moved junior Heather Mattingly and sophomore Erin Gay to the center midfield position over the weekend.
With the new changes, the Bills were ready to face Louisville on Saturday, Sept. 9.
The result was a 3-1 Billiken loss. It was the Billikens’ fourth loss in five games.
Louisville came out firing from the get-go, scoring two quick goals in the first five minutes.
Lainey Habeeb knocked in the first goal for the Cardinals, and Kari Beckthorn scored one of her two goals in the first half.
Junior Kristen Burich gave the Billikens their first and lone goal two minutes into the second half. She was assisted by Mattingly and junior Keri Brunner.
Beckthron put another goal on the board later in the second half, to clinch the victory 3-1.
“We struggled to play a full 70-minute game with the Cardinals,” said West.
“Although we played fairly well, we needed to be focused for the entire match.”
The Billikens came back strong the following day against Indiana, recording their second victory of the year.
Junior goalkeeper Erin Linehan recorded her second shutout of the season, and Brunner scored two goals to lead the Bills to a 4-0 win.
Less than one-minute into the game Brunner scored the lone goal of the first half.
Brunner started off the second half similar to the first by scoring in the third minute.
Freshman Alisa Hebert picked up her first career goal, to give the Bills a 3-0 lead. She was assisted by Burich.
Burich finished the Bills’ scoring by knocking in a deflection from freshman Lindsey Lombardo.
“We finished the weekend off strong, with our victory against Indiana,” said Hebert.
“We’re looking to prove ourselves this coming weekend when we take on Central Michigan and Kent State.”
This will be the first contest against CMU since `98. Kent State beat the Bills 9-0 last year.
“Central Michigan has a fairly strong program, and Kent State is always a tough challenge,” West said.
“We are looking forward to this trip and hope that the momentum from this past weekend will carry over.”
