The Saint Louis University women’s soccer team played Cincinnati last Thursday night. They played and they played and they played until Cincinnati scored in the 107th minute to win the second round match in the Conference USA Tournament, 1-0.
Most of the play took place in the midfield with the Bills controlling the ball much of the match.
They outshot the Bearcats 9-6. But the Bearcats stopped SLU’s attack. Both teams generated chances to score that were thwarted.
SLU displayed its trademark stingy defense in allowing only six Bearcat shots on goal. However, Cincinnati swarmed to the ball and forced quick decisions.
The Billikens best chance in the first half came in the 19th minute. Jenny Kehl collected a centering pass from Katie Zaegel. Kehl ran up the near sideline and hit a cross to Ismahan Mohsen.
Mohsen’s shot was stopped, but the rebound rolled out to Kathy Musschoot whose shot was wide.
SLU outshot Cincinnati 4-2 in the first half, with goalkeeper Meghann Burke recording one save.
The Billikens had another chance in the second half. Kathleen Schager hit a long pass to Kehl. She took a high shot from the top of the box that was stopped.
The Bearcats recorded three shots in the second half, while the Billikens notched one.
SLU came out flying in the first overtime. They dominated possession and moved the ball with the skill and precision that had brought them success throughout the season.
SLU recorded four shots in the first overtime period and held the Bearcats to none.
Three minutes into overtime, Shannon Myers took an 18-yard shot that went wide.
Later in the period, Schager collected the ball in the box and passed back to Myers who took another long shot that was stopped.
The Bearcats struck 1:55 into the second overtime. Amy Simonson hit a long through ball to Kim Jedlo. Jedlo took a 12-yard shot that beat Burke inside the near post for the 1-0 win.
The Bearcats moved on to play Marquette in the C-USA final. The Golden Eagles won 1-0 in double overtime.
With its victory in the championship match, Marquette received an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament.
“It was a good game,” said head coach Tim Champion. “We had most of the play. We had some chances, but we didn’t finish. We broke down and they scored. They were hard to play and were very direct. They don’t wear down because their backs don’t attack and forwards don’t move back.”
Champion added, “Overall, we played well. It was a good effort defensively, but we just didn’t finish.”
“Going in, we knew we had nothing to lose,” said Myers. “It was a good game and we played well as a team. We worked hard. We got some opportunities and couldn’t finish. They had one (opportunity) and they did finish.”
Myers added, “It wasn’t a bad note to end the season on. It was a good year. We accomplished a lot of our goals this year. We got to the conference semifinals, which was the first time ever.”
“We played well,” said Mandy Trokey. “We played well, especially in the first half and the first overtime. We had a lot of pressure on them.”
Trokey added, “They were constantly on us. We had to distribute the ball fast or there would be three or four defenders on us.”
The Billikens finished the year 13-5-3 overall and 8-0-3 in C-USA matches. It was the first time in the program’s five-year history that the Billikens went undefeated in conference matches.
