Last Sunday, the Saint Louis University women’s soccer team
tallied their first Conference USA loss at Texas Christian
University, located in Fort Worth. The 3-2 loss came after the
Billikens’ 1-0 blanking of the Houston Cougars on Friday
evening.
Against TCU, Dee Guempel struck first in the game and buried the
first goal of the outing.
Courtney Hulcer and Jamie Perry combined to pick up a pair of
assists in the 17th minute, when the ball was sent ahead to
Guempel, who lofted the ball into the goal to the top left corner
of the net.
TCU answered with a goal of its own, seven minutes later. Jessi
Moore blasted a direct free kick into the top right corner of the
net, blazing the ball past the outstretched arms of Billiken keeper
Amanda Martin. Moore collected the tying goal unassisted.
Later in the half, the game broke open again after several
battles between the Billikens and the Horned Frogs.
In the 35th minute, Anny Lucier put SLU one goal to the good
when she banked a header past TCU’s Katie Buchanan in front of the
goal in the midst of a scramble.
But Lucier’s goal wasn’t enough to quiet the Frogs. Two minutes
later, TCU’s Kim Thompson made a wide run up the left side and
picked up a pass from Moore, then chipped the ball in just beyond
Martin’s reach.
themselves knotted in a 2-2 tie. Despite outshooting TCU 9-2, the
Billikens were simply unable to capitalize on enough chances.
Three minutes into the half, TCU’s Karissa Hill tucked a shot in
just below the crossbar, making what would be the game winner for
the Horned Frogs.
The Bills failed to take advantage of their best chance to score
again approximately a third of the way inside the stanza. Kelly
Ferguson sent a 40-yard longball ahead to Perry, whose one-touch
wobbled off her foot into the waiting hands of Buchanan.
The loss came after Friday’s 1-0 decision over Houston. The
Bills struggled to get on the board first and finally succeeded
half an hour into the game.
Perry stripped the ball from the Cougars’ defense while Tara
Gresco and Mo Hughes flanked up the sides.
Confronted by a defender, Perry sent a pass ahead and found
Gresco, who tapped the ball into the net past Erin Ferguson.
Houston tried to rally in the second half and outshot the
Billikens by a margin of 5-2, but the Cougars only managed a few
shots that were not close enough to the net to actually pose a
threat to the Billikens.
This weekend, the Billikens will continue their stretch of road
games beginning with Drury on Friday evening, followed by a trip to
Springfield, Mo., to take on the bears of Southwest Missouri State
Bears.
Billiken Road Test
Who: Drury University Panthers
When: Tomorrow, 7 p.m.
Where: Springfield, MO
