The Saint Louis University women’s soccer team didn’t lose to Evansville last night. They just ran out of time.
The Billikens lost a physical battle with the Purple Aces 2-0. SLU battled throughout the game and dominated play, especially in the first half.
Even though the both teams failed to score in the first half, SLU had the best scoring chances. Kathleen Schager hit a great through ball to Katie Zaegel. Zaegel crossed the ball to Mandy Trokey, whose shot was stopped.
The best scoring chance of the game came with 36 seconds left in the half. Lindsay Potrafke found Laurie Kaminski. She took a great shot from the near side to the far post. Her shot went under the goalie but bounced wide of the far post.
Evansville scored 12 minutes into the second half. Krista McKendree scored unassisted. She hit a high shot from 28 yards out that went in just under the crossbar.
SLU went on the attack the last 20 minutes of the match. They created solid scoring chances. The Billikens had possession in Evansville’s end and dominated play. They just couldn’t tie the match.
Jenny Kehl broke in on the endline and tapped the ball through her defender’s legs. She dribbled along the endline nearly to the goal post. She took a tough angle shot that was knocked out.
The Purple Aces scored with two minutes left in the match. Jessica Schwartz hit a cross to Kristin Prom for the second goal.
“That was a game that we needed to win,” said head coach Tim Champion. “We needed to finish our chances. They outworked us a little. We played well in the first half and had good opportunities. We need to get back on track against SMU. When you lose, it’s good to come out and play a ranked team.”
This past weekend SLU’s strong defense led to their fifth and sixth straight shutouts with wins over Conference USA foes Louisville and Cincinnati.
The Billikens picked Louisville apart as SLU cruised to a 10-0 victory last Friday night. Eight different Billikens scored in the lopsided contest.
SLU scored in the fourth minute. Kehl collected the ball and made a great move on the endline to draw Louisville goalie Jordan Fredriksen out of the goal. She stopped Kehl’s shot.
The rebound came to Kathy Musschoot, whose shot was stopped by a defender. Shannon Myers collected the ball and scored in the virtually open net.
Before Louisville could regroup, the Billikens scored again. Zaegel collected the ball and hit a centering pass from the endline to Kehl. She scored from 12 yards out, one and a half minutes later.
Anne Lucier made the score 3-0 in the 35th minute. Kehl crossed a perfect head-high pass to Lucier. Lucier redirected the pass just under the crossbar from five yards out.
Louisville couldn’t manage anything against the Billikens. The Cardinals failed to record a shot in the first half, while the Billikens took 10.
Before the fans could find their seats after halftime, the Billikens scored again.
Musschoot scored 1:46 into the half, as Musschoot scored from 25 yards out. She took a shot from the near side that scored just inside the far post.
Schager made the score 5-0 seven minutes into the half. Musschoot hit a corner kick long and found Schager. Schager headed in the pass past a Louisville defender.
Zaegel found Trokey, and SLU’s lead swelled to 6-0. Zaegel found Trokey in the box with a centering pass. Trokey scored from 6 yards out.
The Billikens made the score 7-0 18 minutes into the second half. Ismahan Mohsen hit Beth Moberg. Moberg hit a 20-yard shot that hit the bottom of the crossbar and bounced in.
Potrafke upped the lead to 8-0 with 15 minutes left in the match. Lucier and Potrafke worked a give and go. The goalie came out on Lucier, who hit Potrafke. She scored past the far post from eight yards out.
Lucier scored with nine minutes left in the match, for a 9-0 lead. Potrafke hit a perfect through ball to Lucier who scored from eight yards out.
Lucier rounded out the scoring for SLU with just under five minutes remaining in the match. Kaminski hit a corner kick to Lucier. Lucier headed home the high pass for the hat trick.
Lucier’s hat trick was the fifth in the program’s history and the first-ever for a SLU freshman.
“It was an exciting game for me,” said Lucier. “We got to work a lot up top. Lindsay (Potrafke) and I worked a lot and established a rhythm. We finished a lot of our opportunities.”
“We played well and we finished,” said head coach Tim Champion. “It was nice to get a lot of players playing time. It was a good tuneup for Cincinnati. These next four games are games we need to win.”
The Billikens continued their offensive explosion with a 4-0 victory over the Bearcats.
The Billikens took a 1-0 lead off a penalty kick. Potrafke took the first shot. Bearcats’ goalie Christy Hoffman made the save, but couldn’t control the rebound. Lucier collected the ball. Her shot was stopped by a defender with an illegal handball. SLU was rewarded a penalty kick and Schager capitalized on the opportunity.
Lucier scored five minutes later. Potrafke hit Erin Schwetye with a pass. Schwetye found Lucier across the box. Lucier scored past the near post.
The Billikens took a 3-0 lead. Goalie Meghann Burke hit a long punt after a save. Kehl gained possession on the far side and centered to Musschoot. Musschoot scored inside the near post from 10 yards out.
Schager scored the fourth and final goal for the Billikens. Myers took a restart and hit the crossbar with the shot. The ball bounced to Schager who blistered a low shot past the near post.
“These are games we needed to win. We never beat Cincinnati before and they are one of the better teams in the conference. We put some space between us and them. We showed a lot of maturity,” Champion said.
SLU faces one of its toughest road trips of the season as they travel to Texas this weekend. The Billikens face 24th-ranked Southern Methodist on Friday night and head to C-USA rival Houston on Sunday.
