The field hockey team made significant strides this week both offensively and defensively. SLU netted four goals and only allowed six.
The women’s home opener was last Wednesday against their rivals, the Missouri State Bears. The Bears found the back of the net first in the 17th minute, but the Bills were able to answer in the 31st minute with a goal from freshman midfielder Carly Kissinger. She was assisted by sophomore defender Morgan Crowe.
The match ended in a tie at halftime. The offense picked up for both teams in the second half, each team scoring three times. Crowe put away a penalty stroke in the 42nd minute. Missouri State pulled ahead 4-2 by the 56th minute, but SLU mustered a comeback with a goal in the 62nd minute from freshman midfielder Molly Feid, who gathered a rebound off of her own shot. Junior forward Maya Bentley put in her first goal of the season in the 68th minute, tying it up to force the game into overtime.
Despite the amount of offense SLU created in regulation, they could not get a chance in overtime to put things away. Missouri scored the final goal five minutes into overtime, taking the win 5-4.
SLU had two days to recover before their first conference game of the season against VCU. It was a fairly even match for most of the first half; both teams produced quality chances and kept the score at 0-0 for the majority of the second half.
VCU put one in at the very end of the first half off a penalty corner, the only goal of the match. The Rams advanced to 2-4 and the Billikens fell to 0-9.
The Billikens had a major offensive push with 16 shots on goal to the Rams’ 17. Senior goalie Tori Westhead made eight saves, keeping the back line strong. Freshman back Monica Ryan is also stepping up for the back line with two defensive saves so far this season.
Sophomore midfielder Katie Moss thinks this pair of games was crucial for the team’s progress going into the second half of the season. “As a team, we are playing very well together. From last year to this year, we have made a huge step in our team’s connection on and off the field,” Moss said. “We have the dedication and will power to work hard for each other, and with that we made progress in being more offensive in the circle and getting shots on goal.”
She, as well as the rest of the team, knows there is still a lot to work on with some big games coming up. “It’s going to take hard work, keeping our minds mentally in check, limiting the other team’s shots on goal, and putting some numbers on the board,” Moss said. “We are going to continue to fight and come back with some wins! We have the heart, and we have the strength to fight back.”
The Billikens travel to Philadelphia to take on the Atlantic-10 competition of Saint Joseph’s and La Salle on Sept. 25 and Sept. 27. Their next home match is October 2 against Massachusetts at 2 p.m.
