In a weekend of vicious rivalries, the Saint Louis University women’s soccer team discovered hidden talents, rediscovered old talents, and now has just one thing in mind: keep on rolling.
“We need to get on a roll and put together a string of wins. Two is good but not enough,” said coach Tim Champion.
The Billikens shut out Conference USA rival South Florida 4-0 in a fierce Sunday afternoon battle at Robert R. Hermann Stadium, following a 2-0 win Friday night against Southern Miss.
“Both games were very physical,” Champion said. “When you play conference teams, you can expect it to be all physical. We still moved the ball well, which is hard to do when you’re getting hit from behind so much, but I’m happy with how we played.”
Six and a half minutes into the game, Erin Schwetye sailed a long ball to Jenny Kehl, who then drove the ball past USF’s goalkeeper Breck Bankester for her first goal of the season.
“Jenny Kehl is finally breaking through. She hadn’t been shooting as much as she could and she took it upon herself to shoot more,” Champion said.
Later in the half, the Billikens increased their lead after Schwetye found sweeper Anny Lucier in familiar territory–unmarked in the penalty area–after a corner kick. Lucier headed the ball in from eight yards back.
Lucier played sweeper this weekend, following Megan McNiff’s injury at UAB last week. Lucier earned the recognition of C-USA Defensive Player of the Week and was named to Soccer America’s Team of the Week.
“Anny is a smart player,” Kehl said. “She’s got great distribution, she is a smart player and she has good composure.”
Christie Cigno and Ellen Gerweck continued to pressure the Bulls during the first half, but came up empty when Bankester saved Cigno’s shot and Gerweck’s 30-yard ball deflected off the post.
In the 51st minute, Schwetye, Kehl and Cigno padded the Saint Louis lead when Schwetye connected with Kehl, who crossed the ball across the goal to Cigno for a four-yard volley into the net.
Kehl scored the final goal of the match on a four yard header off a long ball from Kara Kornfeld.
Friday night, the Billikens breezed past Southern Miss in a 2-0 win in the first meeting of the two teams in more than a year.
Meghann Burke was on her toes early in the game, grabbing three saves before the Billikens pulled ahead of the Golden Eagles in the 23rd minute. Jamie Perry earned her sixth goal of the year off a 10-yard blast over USM’s Leslie Scoeplein.
Cigno scored during the 51st minute after receiving a pass from Kehl and going one-on-one with Schoeplein.
Cigno tried for a 10-yard header, but Schoeplein was quick on her feet and made the save.
After a few more tries at scoring, Cigno netted a goal in the last 20 minutes of the game. Lachlyne Eastman started the play by dropping the ball back 18 yards to Perry, who then crossed the ball to the far post where Cigno jumped and connected on a header.
One of the most significant factors in the success of the Billikens this weekend was the way the offense has come together.
“We now have three players in the attack (Perry, Cigno and Kehl) who can put the ball in at any time,” Champion said. “Other players are putting a lot of pressure on other teams.
“Lachlyne Eastman has been doing very well up top and Mandy Trokey is very strong in the middle.”
This weekend, the Billikens will face two teams for the first time at the University of Arizona Tournament in Tuscon. Friday, the Bills will square off against Idaho State. The Bills will either play Arizona or Youngstown State on Saturday.
“We don’t know what to expect from these teams since they are in different regions and we’ve never seen them before,” Champion said. “The tournament will be interesting because it will give us a better feel for how we stack up nationally.”
After the tournament in Arizona, the Billikens enjoy a short break before heading to Chicago to take on C-USA foe DePaul.
