It wasn’t supposed to turn out like that.
It was the grudge match to end all grudge matches, and this time, it was supposed to be payback.
But that’s not how it went.
Last night, the fourth-seeded Saint Louis University women’s soccer team fell to one of their biggest Conference USA rivals, Marquette University, in the quarterfinals of the C-USA Tournament in Charlotte, 2-1 in overtime.
The Golden Eagles started to attack early and were on the board after 17 minutes of play. Marquette’s Carolyn Klopp sailed a pass across the field to Anna Frisk, who tucked the ball in under the crossbar, just over the head of Billiken goalkeeper Meghann Burke.
The Bills tied the score 17 minutes later when Christie Cigno finished a dangerous Billiken attack. The run began with Kelly Ferguson intercepting the ball and sending it to Carrie Carlson, who completed the series of passes to Cigno, who then volleyed the ball just inside the post.
Neither team managed a second successful shot during regulation play, sending the game into two periods of overtime. Three minutes into the second OT, Marquette’s Kate Gordon bolted ahead of the Billikens’ defense on a breakaway. Burke attacked the ball and looked as though she stopped the shot, but the referee called a foul and awarded Marquette a penalty kick. The ball went in, abruptly ending the season for the Billikens.
The loss came after Friday’s do-or-die heartbreaker with the Charlotte 49ers ended in a disappointing 3-2 loss. The match was important since it determined the C-USA Tournament seedings.
“In our execution, we showed we were just as good (as Charlotte),” said striker Jamie Perry. “We created a lot of chances but just didn’t finish them.”
The Billikens tested Charlotte early in the game, but barely five minutes into the match, the Niners were on the board after a goal from Megan Terlip. She one-touched the ball into the net amid a flurry of Billiken defenders, leaving Burke without a chance to get her hands on the ball.
Throughout the half, the Bills turned up their aggressiveness and sent several quality shots toward Charlotte’s goal, but each shot was unsuccessful. Jenny Kehl had one of the most promising chances to tie the game in the 12th minute, but her shot rocketed just over the crossbar.
In the 24th minute of play, Charlotte struck again, this time after Courtney Crandell faced Burke one-on-one and beat the Billiken keeper with a 10-yard header over her reach.
Despite the sluggish play of the second half, the Bills played more vivaciously on offense than in the first stanza. Kehl dominated the attack again, facing Howell alone and firing a shot from just a few yards back. Howell deflected Kehl’s shot and it landed near Erin Schwetye. Schwetye connected with Jamie Perry, who managed a close-range shot, but Howell was steady and punched the ball over the crossbar.A few minutes later, Charlotte added their third goal of the outing. This time, Mikel Casey found her way out of a mob in front of SLU’s net and sailed a pass to Jennie Leeder, who pulled off a shot into the middle of the net.
Finally, Perry got the Billikens on the board with just over 13 minutes left to start a rally. She began the play by running through the near side, evading Howell, and tapping the ball into the goal past the remaining Charlotte defenders.
Schwetye earned the second goal for SLU just six minutes later. In a valiant effort to inch closer to a tie, Schwetye stripped the ball from a defender and battled past another defender in what looked like a wrestling match near the top of the box. Schwetye knocked the defender to the ground and blasted the ball past a stunned Howell.
“I’m disappointed with the result, but we played well,” coach Tim Champion said. “Charlotte is a good opponent, and I hate to say they dominated the game. We broke down defensively and didn’t finish up top.”
SLU nearly tied the game in the final moments of the match, but chances from Kehl and Perry were left unfinished, forcing the Bills to accept a heartbreaking loss. Despite the outcome of the game, the Billikens out-shot the 49ers 18-6, including 12 shots in the second half, compared to Charlotte’s four.
The team earned several honorable accolades. Burke was named C-USA Defensive Player of the Year for the second time in her career. Burke led the league in shutouts with 12 this season and boasted a 0.73 goals against average, ranking in the top 15 in the nation. Kehl was selected to the C-USA First Team for the third year of her career. In this, her senior season, Kehl was the leader in C-USA with 11 assists, tallying 33 in her career.
Perry was also selected to the first team for her offensive efforts this season, tabulating 13 goals and 29 points, setting school records in both categories.
