Perhaps the women’s soccer team looked past this last Sunday’s contest against the SIU-Edwardsville Cougars.
The Saint Louis University Billikens concluded the match in a 0-0 stalemate with the Cougars after a rollercoaster-like and rainy afternoon.
They also drew against the Redhawks of Southeast Missouri State (SEMO). Even after cruising to a 3-1 win on Sunday, Sept. 11th against University of Missouri-Kansas City, the Bills could not find the net once in either game this past weekend.
Midfielders Alli Reimer and Colleen Kustura and freshman forward Lindsay Elking peppered the SIUE goalie all afternoon, but they could not get the Billikens on the scoreboard. Sophomore forward Jenny Hummert also contributed with several promising, but deflected, kicks.
Goalkeeper Katie Walsh reacted impeccably to the Cougars’ offensive pressure and notched seven saves, and she recorded a clean sheet in the match. Walsh nabbed her season high of eight saves in Friday’s game against SEMO.
The Billikens pushed hard for a goal just before halftime and provoked cries from the stands and the bench. A significant turn of events followed a first half plagued by erratic downpours, dropping temperatures and gusty winds and tried to take away any momentum SLU had built going into halftime.
Nonetheless, the Billikens did not allow the deteriorating weather and sloppy pitch to distract them. The end of halftime saw improved communication, a solid defensive line and increased physicality.
Second-half play mimicked the first 45 minutes with scoring opportunities and defensive saves. The closing minutes of regulation time produced no goals, and the teams went into the first of two 10-minute overtimes. After an offensive shot and a couple goal deflections, the first overtime ended in zeros, but the second overtime came to a thrilling finish.
After a drive by Hummert to the goal from the top of the penalty box followed by a blocked shot just feet from the net, the Billikens earned two consecutive corner kicks at the 23-second mark and the 15-second mark. Unfortunately, these were not enough to gain the lead over the Cougars.
“We had our defense figured out, and we did well trying to create opportunities for ourselves,” Head Coach Tim Champion said about the tie. He also expressed that not having freshman forward Abbey Stock in the game was an unfortunate situation. Stock leads the team in scoring with three goals, one assist and eight shots on goal.
Katie Walsh has been racking up awards and climbing the team’s statistical categories. For her pair of clean sheets, she was named Co-Player of the Week in the Atlantic 10 Conference for Sept. 12-18. Her shutout against SIUE was her team-leading third of the season.
Walsh has been steadily chipping away at some of the SLU career stat charts as well. The junior has racked up 12 shutouts, 124 saves and 2,552 minutes up to this point. Her significant number of minutes logged is the sixth highest in the program’s history.
Expect Walsh to see her numbers progressively grow throughout the remainder of this season and the next year’s campaign. This Sunday, Sept. 25, Walsh and the rest of the Billikens will take on Missouri State University, whom they tied 0-0 last season. A victory would be a much-needed boost as they usher in conference play in October.
