The best never rest.
After finishing the best season in the program’s five-year history last year, the Saint Louis University women’s soccer team could have been satisfied. But they weren’t. They improved their schedule. And they set their goals even higher. In the process, they accomplished something that was unexpected-an undefeated record in Conference USA.
The Billikens ended the year with an 8-0-3 record and finished behind Marquette.
“It’s hard to believe we were undefeated and didn’t win conference,” said head coach Tim Champion. “Considering the schedule, we played six of the teams that made the conference tournament on the road. It was a successful season. We’ve been able to put ourselves at a level where we’re competing for the title every year.”
“This year, going undefeated was good,” said senior midfielder Kathleen Schager. “We knew we were the best team. It’s good for the team next year knowing that we were undefeated and better than the other teams in the conference. Hopefully, next year we’ll prove it.”
The Billikens set their expectations high coming off the record-breaking campaign.
“We wanted to repeat as conference champions,” Champion said. “We wanted to have a season comparable to last season, record-wise. We upgraded the schedule. As we played, we realized that we were a better team than we initially thought.”
Champion added, “We needed to get in the NCAA Tournament. I’m disappointed that we didn’t. But that gives us something to shoot for. Overall, it was a good year, considering the amount of road games we had.”
The Billikens opened the season with four straight wins over Drury, Creighton, Kansas and Southwest Missouri State.
The biggest of those wins was the 3-2 victory over Kansas. The Billikens trailed 2-0 with 28 minutes left in the half. But SLU took over and scored three unanswered goals. The game-winner came on a Mandy Trokey header with 1:30 left in the match.
“We proved we can come back and win,” said freshman back Carrie Carlson. “It is the sign of a good team.”
The Billikens gained momentum from their early success and won nine of their first 10 games. Victories over Southern Miss, Charlotte and South Florida were key in the conference standings.
SLU followed those contests with a 4-0 win over the Cincinnati Bearcats. The Billikens had never defeated the Bearcats in their five previous meetings.
The Billikens took to the road for a showdown with the first-place Marquette. The teams played to a scoreless tie.
“We proved we could play and even outplay the top-ranked teams,” said sophomore forward Jenny Kehl. “Even though we tied, they didn’t dominate the game.”
“It was a good game,” said junior back Katie McDonnell. “We came out fired up and played well. We surprised them.”
“It was an evenly-matched game,” Carlson said. “We had more of the play in the first half. We proved we can play with the top 20 teams.”
The Billikens also faced tough road contests against nationally ranked Southern Methodist University and Wisconsin.
Even though the results weren’t what SLU desired, these contests provided a major revelation for the Billikens.
“By playing these better teams, we realized we’re right there with them,” McDonnell said.
“Even though we lost to SMU, we realized that we’re not far off. We respect them,” Burke said.
SLU took the second seed in the conference tournament. They defeated Tulane 3-1 in the first round, but lost a double-overtime contest to Cincinnati, 1-0.
The Billikens finished the year 13-5-3 overall and 8-0-3 in the conference. Much of their success this year can be attributed to the defense that is currently ranked 16th nationally.
The Billiken defense, led by starting backs Kelly Young, McDonnell, Melissa Gossman, Megan McNiff and goalie Burke, held opponents to 0.8 goals per game. SLU allowed only four goals in conference contests.
“All the defenders turned in very good years,” Champion said. “We’re still one of the best defensive teams in the country. We do it as a unit.”
Eight Billikens were honored for their play this season. Burke was named Defensive Player of the Year. Young and Kehl were first-team All-Conference selections.
Schager and McNiff were second-team All-Conference picks, and Trokey was named to the All-Conference third team. Carlson and Anne Lucier were on the conference’s All-Freshman team.
Even though the Billikens’ season didn’t end the way they might have wished, they are determined to make the NCAA Tournament next season.
“We want to win conference. We won’t be happy just getting to the final game. We want to win,” McDonnell said.
“I definitely think we can. We’re getting a lot back. We know what we can accomplish,” McDonnell said. “Each year we progressively build. We want to become recognized and show that we are a good team.”
