The Saint Louis University women’s soccer team continued its
streak of wins and shutouts last weekend with a 4-0 win in the
Conference USA opener over previously undefeated Southern Miss, and
rolled past Tulane in a 3-0 Sunday afternoon stint.
“We dominated both teams,” said coach Tim Champion. “They were
not prepared for our speed and how we moved the ball.”
On Sunday, most of the game was played in SLU’s offensive third,
and Tulane’s defense quickly crumbled.
In the 14th minute, Jamie Perry and Anna Schuch combined to put
SLU on the board as Schuch buried the game winner off a feed from
Perry.
Later in the half, Perry helped beat the Green Wave’s defense
again when Perry sent a long cross inside the box to Courtney
Hulcer, who one-touched the ball into the net from six yards off
the line.
Seven minutes later, Perry won a dead ball several yards in
front of Tulane’s net and launched the ball into the goal past
Tulane’s weathering goalkeeper Megan Morey.
With the unassisted goal, Perry picked up her fourth point of
the evening after collecting a pair of assists earlier in the
half.
to dominate play and spent most of the stanza on the offensive.
Billiken keeper Amanda Martin only got her hands on the ball
once, and SLU’s backfield was not pressured with any degree of
vivacity. Middle back Anny Lucier sent a few long balls ahead to
the midfield, and wide backs Kara Kornfeld and Carrie Carlson were
relatively unchallenged.
The second half’s fare was similar to that of the end of the
first, with SLU dominating play in Tulane’s defensive third, but
Tulane managed two shots on goal in the half that kept Lyndsay
Gensler, who replaced Martin in goal, on her toes.
Friday evening, the Bills ruined Southern Miss’ undefeated
record by knocking the Golden Eagles down in a 4-0 rollover.
Christie Cigno scored first and netted the game winner after Perry
put a free kick into play from approximately 25 yards back and the
ball deflected out towards Dee Guempel, who headed the ball to
Cigno for a quick tap into the net.
Southern Miss tried to rally midway through the half and saw
their best chance to score when Lauren Prewitt was chased down by
Lucier in the Billiken backfield and got the ball off her foot, but
Martin made the save and squelched Southern Miss’ hopes of a tied
game.
Late in the half, Tara Gresco tallied her first career goal, as
did Annabel Murphy, pushing SLU ahead to a 3-0 lead.
In the second half, Guempel added the final goal of the outing
after she two-touched the ball to beat out Anna Snyder in the USM
night.
“We have three freshmen starting and three others getting into
the game quickly,” Champion said. “They have helped diversify our
attack; we have six players who are capable of scoring instead of
two or three.”
The league recognized a member of SLU’s backfield after the two
easy wins. Kornfeld was honored after the Billikens picked up the
pair of wins this weekend, both of which Kornfeld helped steady
SLU’s defense to a five-game shutout streak at home.
“It’s about time someone recognized Kara. She is one of our most
consistent players and she’s very solid. She’s been a mainstay in
our backfield.”
This weekend, the Billikens will begin a six-game road swing
with a C-USA double feature, leading off with Houston on Friday and
Texas Christian University on Sunday.
“These games will be different–these are more physical and
quick teams, and it’s always harder to win on the road,” Champion
said. “But we expect to win.”
The Houston Cougars are coming into the weekend 2-6-1 and have
not won a game since Sept. 10. They are 0-2 in conference play so
far this season.
The Horned Frogs of TCU come into this match with a 3-4-1 record
overall, with a 1-1 conference record after beating Cincinatti 2-1
in their opener but being shutout by DePaul 2-0 in their following
match.
Billiken World Trip
Who: Houston Cougars
When: Tomorrow, 7 p.m.
Where: The University of Houston; Houston, Texas
