Last weekend, the Saint Louis University women’s soccer team came out slow with a 2-0 loss against the Butler Bulldogs on Friday and a 2-2 tie against Vanderbilt on Sunday.
Ashley Hayes proved to a forerunner for the Friday game. The junior midfielder had three shots against Butler.
The more exciting game for the Bills was on Saturday against Vanderbilt. After going down two goals to the Commodores, SLU responded with two goals of its own to equalize the match. Junior Kelly Waeckerle notched the first and junior Sally Sinclair scored the equalizer.
Sinclair notched the goal at the 40-minute mark. By the end of the first half, Sapienza made an assist and Sinclair pulled the ball up right field to make the goal.
Kelly Waeckerle scored at the 55-minute mark, within the second half. She brought the ball up left wing and snuck the ball in the far corner of the goal from 15 yards out.
“I don’t think the score reflected how we played,” said Waeckerle. “We did play harder this time, but we could have done a better job of finishing.”
At one point in the first overtime, Vanderbilt’s multiple penalties gave SLU chances to score but the team was unable to execute.
The Bills had three consecutive shots on the Vanderbilt keeper, the closest one hitting the crossbar.
Freshman goalkeeper, Hannah Perry, agreeing with Waeckerle, said the Sunday game was a better effort on SLU’s part.
“Our intensity level went up,” said Perry. “Even though we tied, we just made a big step up from Friday’s game against Butler.”
Head coach Tim Champion gave credit to SLU’s strong defense, especially Andrea Barklage and her ability to keep the back line strong.
“In that game [against Butler], we didn’t play as well,” Champion said. “But against Vanderbilt, I’m really happy with the way we played. We got to really figure things out.”
Perry also recognized the back line as one of the team’s strengths as they have been a highlight of the team and aids to Perry’s success so far in this season.
Offensively, the Bills were unyielding, with 15 total shot advantage of 15-10 over Vanderbilt.
Two other players who stood out among the Billiken offense, according to Champion, were junior forward Julia Bradenburg and sophomore midfielder Kristen Gawin. Bradenburg had four shots on the game, while Gawin launched two.
The Billikens will be playing the University of Toledo in Toledo, Ohio, tomorrow at 4 p.m. Then they will face off against Northwestern in Evanston, Ill., on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. The next home game will be versus Duquesne on Sept. 26, at 7 p.m. at Robert R. Hermann Stadium.
