The Billiken women’s soccer team ended their season on a sour note, losing at George Washington on Sunday. The Bills (5-9-4) finish the Atlantic 10 season in 12th place, outside the eight-team conference tournament being held this weekend. The loss caps another roller-coaster season for the Bills, as they had hopes of making the tournament going into the final weekend.
Before heading to the nation’s capital, the Billikens picked up their first Atlantic 10 road-win of the past two seasons, beating Charlotte 1-0 on Friday evening. The win briefly catapulted the Billikens into 10th place, on the cusp of a tournament berth. Jessie Jarrett scored the lone goal for the Billikens, her first of the year. Senior Katie Walsh was again strong in the net, adding one last shutout to her career total that will leave her second on SLU’s all-time list.
SLU then headed to Washington D.C. to face the George Washington Colonials, hoping to pick up a victory over the conference’s last place team. The Colonials played perhaps the best 20 minutes of their soccer lives, tallying 4 goals en route to their first Atlantic 10 victory of the season. The loss was ill timed for the Billikens, as they ended up 3-4-1 in the Atlantic 10, and will have a sour taste in their mouths the entire offseason.
In the end, first year head coach Kat Mertz season looked much like last season’s effort, when the Billikens finished 5-10-3. There were positives to take from the season though, not the least of which was the road-win against Charlotte. Charlotte will play in the Atlantic 10 tournament this weekend. Mertz will look for positives like this to build from as she attempts to further implement her system and bring in new skilled recruits this offseason.