The Saint Louis University field hockey team came out looking
for revenge against the Lions of Lindenwood on Saturday.
“We had lost to Lindenwood earlier in the season, so we were
pumped up to play them,” said junior co-captain Ellen Rapp.
The Billikens fell 2-1 to the Lions at Lindenwood last month,
and were able to even the score on Saturday.
“We played very good, strong hockey,” Rapp said.
The Lions scored first, with the goal coming in the closing
minute of the first half.
Lindenwood was awarded a penalty shot after Michelle Sinclair
was struck in the face with the ball and had to leave the field. As
a result, Ingrid Hoffman of the Lions was able capitalize for the
goal.
It didn’t take long for the Bills to respond; sophomore Kelly
Hellenga evened the score just two minutes into the second
half.
“There was chaos in front of the goal area, and the ball bounced
off of a couple of sticks. I just happened to punch in the goal. I
was standing on the post and tipped it in,” Hellenga said. “The
game was really close, especially on 50-50 balls and corners. Both
teams wanted to win.”
Rapp gave the Bills the win on a goal in the last minute of
play.
“We executed a corner well. I just got a really good pass from
Alisa Hebert,” Rapp said.
“We wanted to close out that final minute and celebrate our win.
It was an awesome feeling; we were so excited,” Hellenga said.
The Bills will start the weekend with a game at Northwestern
University for a 2 p.m. game on Friday.
“We’ve been working well together. That will help for our next
game,” Rapp said.
SLU will return to close out the regular season, hosting
Southwest Missouri State on Sunday. SMS defeated the Bills 3-0 at
SMS on Oct. 5th. Seniors Alisa Hebert and Lindsay Lombardo will be
honored during Sunday’s game for their four years as Billikens.
Looking ahead, SLU will host the Northern Pacific Field Hockey
Conference tournament on Nov. 5th through 8th at the Anheuser-Busch
Center. The A-B Center is located just west of I-270 and I-44, in
Fenton.
“Everyone is excited. Playing the tournament at home gives us a
fan advantage. We always play better on our home field,” Rapp said.
“We’re guaranteed two games in the tournament and hope to do really
well.”
