Sometimes numbers really do lie.
The Saint Louis University women’s soccer team defeated the Southwest Missouri State Lady Bears 1-0 in overtime Tuesday night. But the game wasn’t that close.
SLU outshot the Lady Bears 16-6 and created numerous scoring chances, while holding SMS to only two solid chances on goalkeeper Meghann Burke.
The Billikens pressured the SMS defense early. Four minutes into the contest, junior midfielder Jenny Kehl broke in and hit a shot on goal. SMS keeper Alexis Stormo came out on the shot, but was unable to control it. The rebound rolled across the face of the goal before rolling over the endline.
Eleven minutes into the second half, SMS nearly took a 1-0 lead. The Lady Bears hit a shot that was deflected and rolled through the goal box to the near side. Burke slid across the goal face and made a diving save on a rising shot from SMS.
The Billikens grabbed the momentum back and kept it the rest of the match. Freshman midfielder Ellen Gerweck forced a turnover and gained possession. Gerweck found freshman forward Jamie Perry. Perry hit Kehl in stride. She was able to get a clean shot off that sailed just high and wide of the upper corner.
SLU found the back of the net six minutes into the first overtime period. Debbie Stark, SMS’s leading scorer, raced up field. Gossman stepped up and forced Stark to the middle of the field. Gossman eventually gained possession from Stark and hit a pass upfield to Kehl. Kehl tried to slide a pass across the field to Perry, but a SMS defender was able to get a foot on the ball. Kehl regained possession and made a beeline toward the goal. Stormo came out to try to meet the ball, but Kehl blistered a shot into the lower left corner past Stormo.
“We’ve been playing better the last few games, especially with people out,” said coach Tim Champion. “We’ve had to rework who plays where and when. We do need to finish better.
“We expected Southwest to be a good team. It’s a regional rivalry. I expected that we would play well,” Champion said. “I was hoping that we’d finish. I’m happy that we created dangerous chances in the box.”
“I felt that things are starting to click,” said Burke. “It feels good. I don’t care what the score was.”
Tuesday’s win came on the heels of a weekend split on the road. The Billikens lost to Houston last Friday night. The Cougars took a 1-0 lead 12 minutes into the second half. Kara Bullinger took Houston’s corner and served it into the box. Carrie Evans redirected the corner into the back of the net.
The Cougars added an insurance goal with 14 seconds left. All 11 players were brought up past the midfield. Sherika Hardaway gained possession and got in a footrace with Burke.
Burke raced back and stopped the first shot, but was unable to control it. Hardaway picked up the rebound and scored in the open net.
SLU rebounded on Sunday and picked up a 1-0 win over Tulane in New Orleans. SLU’s lone goal came with eight minutes left in the first half. SLU’s defense hit a ball deep into Tulane’s defensive end. Kehl ran onto the ball near the endline and moved inside the box on the right side. Kehl found Perry just outside the penalty mark. Perry hit a drive to the left side past Green Wave keeper Sara Simpson.
The Billikens employed a new formation, using five backs. Junior Shannon Myers was moved from the midfield to sweeper.
“The last three games are the most organized we’ve been all season defensively,” said junior back Megan McNiff. “In the five back system, we didn’t generate much offense. But it helped us realize what we need to do in the four-four-two system. Things are coming together. Tuesday night was a culmination of the weekend.”
The Billikens (5-4-0 overall, 2-2-0 in C-USA) return to the field on Tues., Oct. 9 with a road match against Evansville at 7 p.m.
