With two shutout wins over the weekend at Robert R. Hermann
Stadium, the Saint Louis University women’s soccer team extended
its winning streak to five games and moved into sole possession of
first place in Conference USA.
“We’re playing very well,” said SLU head coach Tim Champion.
“We’re organized defensively; our defenders are playing well.
Amanda’s [Martin] playing very well in the nets and we’ve been
scoring some really nice goals. So I’m really happy with how we’re
going right now.”
The Billikens continued their strong defense in the pair of 3-0
wins over East Carolina and Charlotte on Friday night and Sunday
afternoon, respectively.
SLU has yet to surrender a goal in their five C-USA games.
On Sunday against Charlotte, the Billikens built a lead in the
first half on a pair of goals resulting from free kicks by
sophomore Courtney Hulcer, who was named C-USA defensive player of
the week for her efforts over the weekend.
The first goal came in the sixth minute when a Billikens player
was fouled near midfield.
Hulcer set up the free kick 40 yards away from the goal and
blasted a rocket that hit off the bottom of the crossbar and into
the net for Hulcer’s first goal of the season.
Thirty minutes later, Hulcer again set up a free kick after a
foul, only this time the kick was set up a little closer to the
goal and on the right side of the field.
She sent a long serve into the penalty area, where junior Kelly
Ferguson put her head on the ball from 12 yards away and sent it
into the right side of the net to give her team a 2-0 lead.
The goal was Ferguson’s fourth of the season.
In addition to their 2-0 lead at the half, the Billikens
out-shot the 49ers 10-0 and held a 3-0 advantage on corner kicks
while dominating play in the first half.
As the second half began the Billikens continued to put pressure
on the Charlotte defense.
Their best chance to score early in the second half came when
49er keeper Shannon Huffman made a diving save to rob freshman
Cassi Winchell of a goal.
Charlotte got its first two shots of the game off in the 69th
minute. The second of the two shots required SLU keeper Amanda
Martin to tip the ball over the top of the goal.
SLU added to its lead minutes later when sophomore Ellie Somers
scored her first career goal in the 72nd minute.
top of the penalty area, where it was mishandled by a Huffman. With
the Charlotte keeper charging toward the loose ball, Somers
collected it and calmly drilled the ball into the goal with her
left foot.
With the win, the Billikens improved to 9-3-1 overall and 5-0-0
in C-USA play. With the loss, the 49ers fell to 1-11-1 and 1-3-1 in
C-USA games.
The shutout also gave the Billikens their fifth consecutive
shutout, making it 469 minutes and 57 seconds since they last
yielded a goal to the opponent.
“It’s an overall team effort,” said Champion, in reference to
the recent shutouts.
“I think our midfielders are really helping out because we
always have eight people behind the ball.”
For the Billikens, every win this season has come by way of
shutout.
In their 3-0 win over East Carolina Friday night, the Billikens
dominated play in the first half, but had nothing to show for it on
the scoreboard until the final minute of the half when sophomore
Dee Guempel collected a rebound from a shot by Makensie Johnson and
scored from two yards out to give her team a 1-0 lead.
SLU padded its lead in the first 15 minutes of the second half
by adding two insurance goals.
In the 54th minute, Ferguson curled a shot from the right side
of the field into the goal to give SLU a 2-0 lead. Guempel added
her second goal of the game and fifth of the season minutes later
in the 59th minute when she got the rebound off senior Jamie
Perry’s shot and placed the ball into the far side of the goal,
just past the keeper.
This weekend, the Bills hit the road to continue their C-USA
sprint. Friday, they travel to contest the University of
Alabama-Birmingham. The Blazers are one game behind the Bills in
conference play at 4-1, staying with the top of the pack.
SLU then rounds out their fall break in Tampa, Fla. to play
University of South Florida, who sits at a .500 record in
conference play at 2-2.
Two games remain on the regular season home schedule. However,
SLU also plays host to the C-USA tournament, whose winner receives
an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament–a goal the Bills have long
been striving for.
