Fast starts in the Atlantic 10 Conference are nothing new to the Saint Louis University women’s soccer team.
Last season, the team disposed of their first two conference foes 9-0.
Thus far, through two A-10 contests, the team is again undefeated and unscored upon, taking care of La Salle and St. Bonaventure 2-0, respectively. The Bills are 5-3 on the year and 2-0 in conference.
The team looks to continue their hot start en route to their third conference championship in three years when they travel to Philadelphia to take on Temple University and St. Joseph’s this weekend.
The Temple Owls (5-3) are a team on the rise in the A-10. Freshman goaltender Kara Williams was named the conference rookie of the week last week after notching nine saves in a loss to Rhode Island. The team was picked to finish 13th in the conference and will welcome the Bills to the city of Brotherly Love with a 1-1 A-10 record.
The Bills will have little time to recover from the Owls, as they visit the Hawks of St. Joseph’s on Sunday. St. Joe’s finds itself in familiar territory-the bottom of the conference standings-after dropping both of their matches.
Last week’s trip to Philadelphia proved to be a successful one.
In what proved to be a defensive struggle, freshman Alyssa Mautz and sophomore Julia Bradenberg took care of business offensively, each notching a goal against La Salle. Senior Cassi Winchell assisted on both tallies.
The Bills returned home to the friendly confines of Hermann Stadium on Sunday to host St. Bonaventure. The Bonnies proved to be no match for the Billikens, as sophomore midfielder Kelly Waeckerle and senior Mary Green provided the goals in the victory.
Freshman goalkeeper Dominique Turk made two saves to earn her second straight shutout. The team has been unstoppable at home since joining the A-10, boasting an eye-opening .833 winning percentage (35-5-2) the past three seasons.
Despite losing All-American midfielders Courtney Hulcer and Dee Guempel to graduation, the Bills were picked to win the A-10 for the third consecutive year.
Bradenberg, who burst onto the national scene in her freshman debut last season, will be called upon to pack the scoring punch once again. She led the team in points (10 goals, eight assists) and was a second-team NSCAA All-Region Selection. She was named the A-10 Rookie of the Year and second-team All-Conference.
After the weekend, the Bills will have nine more conference games on their schedule before the Atlantic 10 tournament in Charlotte, N.C.
