The Saint Louis University women’s soccer team wasted no time
kick-starting their offense Friday night in their first pre-season
game of the 2004 season against Lindenwood University, an NAIA
school from nearby St. Charles, Mo., steamrolling the Lions
8-1.
SLU dominated possession and all offensive categories,
out-shooting Lindenwood 31-2 and holding an 8-0 advantage on corner
kicks.
While the game was a blowout, it was a good way to get rid of
any first-game jitters for the freshmen on the team.
It also gave SLU coach Tim Champion an opportunity to see his
defensive unit, which lost three of four starters that had a big
hand in a school record 13 shutouts last season.
“It wasn’t the best test defensively I would have liked, but it
gave us a chance to see a lot of players,” Champion said.
It didn’t take long for the Billikens to put pressure on
Lindenwood keeper Kathryn Byrum, as SLU midfielders Courtney Hulcer
and Kelly Ferguson both sent shots over the goal in the first five
minutes of the game.
The Billikens got on the board with their first goal, in the
11th minute, when Ferguson, playing on the left side of the field,
sent a cross-field pass to Hulcer, who upon receiving the ball
moved in on the goal to net the ball into the lower left corner of
the net.
Just over three minutes after Hulcer’s goal, SLU added to their
score in the 14th minute when senior forward Jamie Perry’s serve
found sophomore midfielder Dee Guempel’s head for a goal from eight
yards out.
The Billikens’ third goal in a span of under seven minutes came
when Ferguson scored in the 17th minute from 18 yards out.
In the 30th minute, junior forward MaKensie Johnson put an end
to 13 minutes of scoreless soccer when she put her head on junior
midfielder Lachlyne Eastman’s corner kick, putting the Billikens up
4-0 with 15 minutes still to play in the first half.
In the 41st minute, Lindenwood finally notched their first shot
of the game when forward Jordan Agee shot over the goal.
Two minutes later, the Lions scored their only goal of the game
when forward Becky Ryan sent a lofted shot on goal from just
outside of the right side of the penalty area.
The ball just went over the outstretched hand of junior SLU
keeper Amanda Martin to cut the Billikens’ lead to 4-1 as the first
half came to a close.
Just as they had in the first half, the Billikens scored a
flurry of goals during a relatively short stretch in the second
half. Hulcer led off the second half scoring in the 54th minute
when she collected another pass from Ferguson and blasted the ball
past Byrum for her second goal of the game.
In the 61st minute, Perry scored the first of what would turn
out to be three SLU goals in a span of just over five minutes.
Lindenwood keeper Byrum mishandled a shot by Guempel, and Perry,
collected the ball and sent it into the net to widen the lead to an
untouchable 6-1.
The second goal in the stretch came a little over a minute after
Perry’s goal, as sophomore Tara Gresco sent a shot from 15 yards
out into the lower left corner of the goal. Gresco’s goal gave
Ferguson her third assist of the night, to go along with one
goal.
On the final goal of the evening, the crowd of 763 was treated
to a rather unusual occurrence.
Eastman curled a corner kick in on goal and when no player was
able to successfully make contact with the ball, it found its way
into the far right side netting of the goal.
In addition to being a game of two teams from the St. Louis
area, the game was also a match-up of two teams coached by members
of the Champion family, as SLU coach Tim Champion and Lindenwood
coach Thom Champion are brothers, though it didn’t make the game
any different according to the SLU coach.
“It was just an exhibition game,” Tim Champion said.
The Billikens are next in action Friday night as the open their
regular season schedule on the road in Norman, Ok. where they will
face the University of Oklahoma Sooners at 7:30 p.m. They will then
travel to Normal, Ill. to do battle with the Illinois State
University Cardinals at 4:00 p.m. next Tuesday.
Both opponents participated in the NCAA Tournament last season,
so they should be good tests for a Billikens’ team that has
aspirations of receiving a bid in this years’ NCAA Tournament.
“This team is very talented. We’re a quicker team than we were
last year. Overall, I’m happy,” Champion said.
