August 31, 2000
St. Louis, Mo. -
Saint Louis University's field hockey team was defeated by Stanford University 5-0 in a Northern Pacific conference match at the Anheuser-Busch Conference & Sports Centre. The Bills are now 0-2 overall as well as in league play.
The powerful Cardinal out shot the Billikens 25-7 in the match. Head coach Shannon West said, "We struggled to communicate efficiently both to our players and from one line to another. We need to know what plays are possible before they occur and play with consistency."
The game, normally played with a running clock for two 35-minute halves, was played in quarters to allow for water breaks due to the extreme temperature in the upper 90's. The heat index on the turf was noted to be approaching the 120-degree mark.
First half Cardinal goals were scored by junior forward Erica Swesey (Cherry Hill, NJ), from an assist by junior back Melissa Stai (San Diego, Calif.) with 11:16 remaining. The second and third goals were fired off by sophomore forward Amanda Billmyer (Berwin, Pa.) assisted by freshman forward/midfielder Keely Machmer-Wessels (Cleveland Heights, Ohio) with 4:30 remaining followed 19 seconds later by an unassisted goal from Billmyer.
Billiken goalkeeper junior Erin Linehan (State College, Pa. / State College Area) made 11 saves and was spelled by sophomore Leslie Kearns (Edmond, Okla. / Casady) in the second half. Kearns made two saves.
Second half goals were netted by Stanford's sophomore midfielder Amrit Chima (Ventura, Calif.) from an assist by freshman forward/midfielder Noor Dawood (Hudson, Ohio) with 22:10 remaining. Junior back Sara Herman (Columbia, Md.) completed the scoring registering an unassisted goal with 3:06 left to play.
A note of interest: Due to technical difficulties, The National Anthem cassette would not register through the sound system. Rather than forgo the pre game salute, Stanford's Dawood stepped forward and sang The Anthem in fine fashion to the crowd's delight.
The Billikens will host Iowa on Fri., Sept. 1, at 2:30 p.m.
