For the first time in the history of Saint Louis University, a women’s team has qualified for the NCAA Championship Tournament. With two 1-0 wins over the weekend, the Billikens won the Atlantic 10 tournament and earned an automatic bid into the bracket to play for the national title.

The Billikens were the number-one seed in the tournament after going undefeated in conference play. The tournament was hosted last week in Dayton, Ohio, at the University of Dayton.

The Billikens played their first-round game on Friday. They drew the host Flyers, and an early goal put them on top for good.

Senior defender Lachlyne Eastman scored the first goal of her illustrious career in the 10th minute of play. Eastman settled the ball on a throw-in from junior midfielder Dee Guempel. Eastman brought the ball upfield and lofted a shot toward the goal. From 30 yards away, the shot snuck past the Dayton keeper into the top right corner of the goal.

The Billikens pressured the Flyers for the duration of the period, out-shooting them 8-5. Dayton goalie Nikki Reed had five saves for the game, including three in the first half. Billiken keeper Abby Goellner was forced into making only one save in the first period.

The Billikens staved off a ferocious attack from the Flyers in the second half, and held on for the victory. The Billikens allowed seven shots in the second half, and Goellner made three saves.

After a pileup in front of the Billikens’ goal in the 63rd minute, a Flyer fired two shots, which Billiken defenders had to clear out of the goal area, as Goellner was entangled in the mass of bodies. The Flyers were persistent, but the stingiest defense in the A-10 held strong and did not allow another goal.

After their victory, the Billikens drew second seed University of Rhode Island Rams in the championship game. The Billikens and the Rams had never played each other prior to the championship game. They had been scheduled to play earlier in the season but did not, due to unplayable field conditions.

The Rams advanced to the championship match by besting former Conference USA powerhouse University of Charlotte 49ers, 2-0.

They beat the 49ers on the strength of two goals from Dora Larusdottir.

The Billikens came out hard against the Rams, firing 11 shots in the first half. However, of those 11 shots, the URI goalie was only forced to make one save, as the Bills struggled with their accuracy.

Sophomore Cassi Winchell headed a ball past URI goalie Ria Carroll in the 17th minute. Junior midfielder Kelly Ferguson served a ball up to Winchell, who got her head on it and knocked it into the goal. However, Winchell was called offside and the goal was nullified.

The Billikens kept the pressure on in the second half, as they sent 13 shots toward the Rams’ goal. The Bills also managed to improve their accuracy in the second half, as they forced Carroll into making five saves for the Rams.

The Billikens broke the tie for good in the 63rd minute on a goal by junior forward Maureen Hughes.

Hughes settled the ball after a URI defender popped up a serve from the left side of the field, off the foot of Guempel. Hughes fired her shot from 16 yards out, and barely beat Carroll inside the right post.

Goellner, a freshman, made three saves for the Billikens to net her fourth straight shutout of the season and the second of the postseason tournament. For her efforts, Goellner was named MVP of the A-10 tournament. Four other Billikens were named to the all-tournament: Hughes, junior midfielder Courtney Hulcer, sophomore midfielder Mary Green and freshman defender Lauren Olson.

The Billikens will travel to Santa Clara, Calif., on Friday to face Stanford University in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

Stanford currently holds a 10-6-3 record, including 4-3 in the Pac-10 conference. This will be the Cardinal’s eighth straight appearance in the NCAA tournament. Kickoff for the game will take place at 9:30 p.m.

“This is such a great opportunity for our players, being the first SLU women’s program to reach the NCAA Tournament. With that, we’re not happy with just making it. We’re going out there to play hard and see what we can do – we’re excited to go out and prove that we’re capable of advancing. We played well last weekend to win the A-10 Tournament, and I expect that to continue this weekend,” coach Tim Champion said in a press release.

Should they win, the Billikens will face the winner of the game between Santa Clara and Fresno State. Santa Clara is one of four number-two seeds in the tournament.

The Billikens faced the Broncos earlier this season in Santa Clara and lost, 2-1.

Champion believes that the Billikens’ prior trip out west will aid them in the NCAA tournament.

“It was a surprise to be sent to the west coast, but it’s nice in that we played on this field earlier in the year,” Champion said in a press release.

Kickoff for the second round match is 3 p.m. on Sunday.