On Friday, Sept. 23, 2005, the Saint Louis University women’s soccer team took on the Santa Clara Broncos at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
In the first minutes of the game, both the Billikens and the Broncos saw many opportunities, but both teams failed to capitalize on their chances.
In the 15th minute of the game, however, Santa Clara’s Meagan Snell shot a dead ball from 25 yards out.
The ball was initially blocked by SLU keeper Abby Goellner, but Snell kept on the ball, shooting it at the right post, only to be turned away by Goellner again.
Snell gathered the ball once more and found the right angle on her shot to bring the score up to 1-0.
The Billikens were quick to respond, though, in the 29th minute with a strong attempt from California-native Lachlyne Eastman.
Junior Courtney Hulcer crossed the ball to the top of the box for Maureen Hughes, but a Santa Clara defender was quick to clear the ball out of the penalty area.
Eastman gathered the ball on the left side of the field, brought it into the open space at the top of the box and ripped a shot, which Santa Clara keeper Julie Ryder tipped right over the cross bar.
In the 35th minute of the game, Santa Clara brought the score to 2-0.
After a mishap in the midfield from the Billikens, Santa Clara’s Snell picked up the loose ball, brought it through the midfield and slotted the ball to Brittany Klein, who shot the ball just inside the near post.
Moments later, the Billikens appeared to have cut into the score, with a header from Senior Kelly Ferguson into the upper right corner, off a serve from Hulcer.
The play, however, was ruled offside, leaving the score 2-0.
In the final minute of the half, sophomore Liz Fox collected the ball off a bad pass from an SCU defender, to find sophomore Cassi Winchell fighting for space at the top of the box in the middle of the field. Winchell gathered the ball and found Hughes unmarked on the left side of the field.
Hughes received the ball and carried it into the box, only to be fouled by a Santa Clara defender, giving the Billikens the penalty kick. Ferguson beat Santa Clara’s keeper to the left side of the net, making it a 2-1 game.
In the second half of the game, the Billikens found themselves controlling the match, but found Ryder, the SCU keeper, to be an even bigger obstacle.
SLU was not without opportunities in the second half, beginning with a corner kick only three minutes into the half, and 10 minutes later, a shot was fired from Hulcer that sailed just over the crossbar.
In the 59th minute of the game, Guempel received a ball on the left side of the field off a cross from Hulcer.
Guempel served the ball into the box, looking for a run on from Hughes, but Ryder met Hughes and quickly collected the ball.
“Their keeper was very strong in the air, cutting off a lot of our crosses, but our crosses just needed to be a little better for us to have scored, and our forwards also needed to get on the end of those crosses,” said Hughes.
The final opportunity for the Billikens came in the final five minutes of the game, when Winchell found an unmarked Guempel in the box.
Guempel’s flick header sailed just wide of the goal.
After a strong performance against the fifth ranked team in the nation, the Billikens returned home with high hopes for the weekend.
“The Santa Clara game helped our team realize that we can play at a high level of soccer and potentially beat ranked teams. We were disappointed with the loss, and with a goal called back on us, which could have potentially changed the game, but we are happy with the way we played,” Ferguson said.
The Billikens host two Atlantic 10 Conference games this weekend with Charlotte on Friday, Sept. 30, at 7 p.m. and Richmond on Sunday, Oct. 2, at 1 p.m.
