All the work finally paid off.

Last night, the Saint Louis University women’s soccer team defeated Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, 3-0, after barely losing to Notre Dame 1-0 on Saturday.

SLU played three 30-minute periods as opposed to the usual two 45-minute halves. The Billikens generated numerous scoring chances throughout the SIUE contest.

SLU scored first with three minutes left in the second period. Sophomore midfielder Shannon Myers hit a long pass to midfielder Katie Zaegel. SIUE’s keeper came out to play the ball. Zaegel moved around the keeper and scored in the open the net for a 1-0 lead.

The Billikens struck again, 15 minutes into the third period. Sophomore back Megan McNiff swung the ball to freshman back Carrie Carlson up the far side. Carlson found sophomore midfielder Mandy Trokey. Trokey rifled a shot past SIUE’s keeper.

The Billikens rounded out the scoring with three minutes left in the game.

Junior midfielder Ismahan Mohsen found an opening and hit Trokey with a pass. Trokey sealed off her defender and ran onto the ball. Trokey scored on a rising shot in the near side of the goal.

“We played better. We really built on the Notre Dame game. Unfortunately, the spring season is over soon,” said coach Tim Champion.

“It was good to see the freshman play. The spring has really benefited the freshmen. Liz Jones played well defensively. This game was different than Notre Dame. That was such a hard, physical game. Tonight wasn’t as physical, and we could move the ball. “

“Laurie Kaminski played well,” Champion added. “She had some nice moves and played well on the ball.”

The Billikens had a pair of matches last Saturday at the University of Illinois. SLU was scheduled to face Iowa first, but the Hakweyes only brought eight players for the game. The teams played a six-on-six game.

The real challenge came later that day, when the Billikens met with Notre Dame. The Billikens lost 1-0 on a fluke goal. The Fighting Irish were in the Final Four last season.

Notre Dame played the ball into SLU’s defensive end. There was a five-foot sand pit in the goal box. The ball was played into the box. Goalie Meghann Burke came out to play the ball. The ball hit a rock in the sandpit and ricocheted into the goal.

“The Notre Dame game gave us the lift we needed all season,” said Burke. “It gave us the chance to see that we aren’t far off. I felt proud to be part of the team when we played Notre Dame. It’s awesome to see that, when we play as a team, we can play with anybody.”

“Defensively, we played well,” said Champion.

“We had a number of good scoring chances in the first half. Mandy Trokey played well,” Champioin said.

“We played well as a team. The game showed our players what we can do. We matched up very well with them. It was the best we played this spring,” Champion said.

Champion added, “We did a lot of attacking without any strikers. When you add in what we didn’t have and the freshmen coming in, it looks promising next year.”

The Billikens take to the road to play the Evansville Purple Aces in two weeks.