With the No. 4 ranking heading into the Atlantic 10 Conference Championships, the women’s soccer team suffered a 1-2 loss to No. 5 Dayton in overtime in the first round Thursday, Nov. 8.
Head coach Tim Champion attributes much of Dayton’s success to its goalkeeper.

“The difference in the game was that their keeper played outstanding,” Champion said. “When a keeper comes up big like that, it’s tough to score goals on her.”

The Bills were looking to attain their third consecutive conference tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearance in three years.

Caitlin Proffitt’s third goal of the season won it for Dayton (13-4-3) just 1:57 into the extra period. The shot, which was only the fifth on goal for the Flyers, came off of a free kick from 20 yards out, and it propelled Dayton into Friday’s semifinal match against No. 2 seed Fordham.

Dayton struck first in the first half with a goal from Courtney Sirmans at the 16-minute mark. Saint Louis University, though, responded with a goal at 28:37 from senior Cassi Winchell, which was her sixth on the season.

Statistically, the Billikens dominated the first half with seven shots on goal compared to Dayton’s one and five corner kicks compared to Dayton’s two. But SLU’s statistical advantage only translated into one goal for the Bills.

Champion said that the injuries at the beginning of the season hindered the team but allowed younger players to gain experience. The development of the team had to come from the freshmen rather than the sophomores.

“A lot of young players had a great opportunity to play, and that experience will help them down the road,” Champion said. “It’s disappointing to lose, but looking on the bright side, there were players that got good experience and playing time.”