After suffering a 2-1 loss at Vanderbilt to open the season, the Saint Louis Billikens women’s soccer team knew they needed to make some adjustments – adjustments that paid off this past weekend against Northwestern University.
The Billikens (1-1-0) defeated the Wildcats (0-3-1) in a decisive fashion Sunday afternoon at Robert R. Hermann Stadium to notch their first victory of the season. SLU controlled play for the full 90 minutes and outshot Northwestern 12-4 en route to a 3-0 win.
Sophomore midfielder Andrea Barklage put the Bills up early, scoring her first goal of the season at the eight-minute mark.
“[The early goal] was huge,” head coach Tim Champion said. “We had pressure on them from the very beginning so it was nice to capitalize on that. It was important to get something out of the opportunities we were creating; otherwise we would have regretted wasting the pressure.”
That pressure was the result of the adjustments the team made after dropping the season opener.
“We made some changes in the back, brought in more speed. This allowed our defenders to push up into the attack more and create more offensive pressure,” Champion said.
The defense was stifling in the effort; Northwestern never registered a shot on goal as sophomore Hannah Perry earned her first shutout of the season.
“Defensively, I think we all played a lot more together. We also communicated and moved the ball with each other better than we did against Vanderbilt,” said senior Kelly Waeckerle, who scored the team’s third goal and fed Barklage the assist on the first.
“Being at home was really nice too. We had a really good crowd out there,” she said. “It always feels good to contribute, but I’m just happy that the team came out with a victory.”
Though the lady Billikens have only played two games so far this season, they have already witnessed six different players record at least one point. Susan Frederickson, who leads the team with five total points, added her second goal and an assist in the endeavor against Northwestern. She is trailed by Waeckerle’s four points (one goal, two assists) and Barklage’s two points. Seniors Ashley Hayes, Kristen Sapienza and Julia Bradenberg round out the list with a point each.
The Billikens will look to continue this scoring onslaught as they head into one of the busiest weeks of the season. Friday begins a slate of five games in 10 days, including three on the road.
SLU will play former Conference-USA foe, Cincinnati, in the first game of the Louisville Cardinal Classic. The Bearcats (1-2-0) lead the all-time series against the Bills 8-3-0.
Another former C-USA opponent, the Louisville Cardinals await the Billikens on Sunday afternoon. The Billikens have beaten the Cardinals all nine times the two teams have met.
Tuesday, Sept. 8 the Billikens will head to Springfield, Mo., to play the Missouri State Bears before coming home for two weekend games against Army and Air Force.
“I really like our schedule. Starting off the season with these tough games against big-conference schools really lets you know where you are,” Champion said. “I think this stretch will really let us play a lot of different players and figure out what works.”
The team is preparing for the rough stretch, but making sure not to get ahead of themselves.
“Right now, we are just taking it one game at a time. We need to make sure we continue to improve each game,” Waeckerle said.
The Billikens return to Hermann Stadium Friday, Sept. 11, when the Black Knights come to town.
