Sept. 26, 2004

Final Stats

ST. LOUIS - Senior Jamie Perry (St. Louis, Mo./Rockwood Summit) struck the game winner in the 19th minute as Saint Louis went on to a decisive 3-0 win over DePaul this afternoon in the Conference USA women's soccer opener at Robert R. Hermann Stadium. The Billikens (5-3-1, 1-0-0 C-USA) fired off 18 shots and forced the visiting keeper into double-digit saves for the second-straight game as they kicked off league play with a bang. SLU keeper Amanda Martin picked up her fourth shutout of the season with four saves on the afternoon.

The Billikens were offensive minded right from the opening kickoff, putting up four shots, including three on goal, in the opening 11 minutes of the game before sliding one past DePaul keeper Lindsay Deason in the 19th minute. Sophomore Courtney Hulcer struck a deadball into the box from 40 yards out. After it bounced once in the box, Perry's flick header went just over the right shoulder of Deason for what proved to be the game winning goal.

Saint Louis put three more shots on goal in the first half, but didn't get an insurance strike until early in the second period. Sophomore Maureen Hughes stripped the ball in the midfield and fed freshman Cassi Winchell on the right side. Winchell twice dribbled around defenders as she closed in on the goal from the right wing. After all the hard, aggressive tackling in the box, she found herself at the near post and delicately toed it across the goalmouth to the opposite post for the goal.

Trailing 2-0, the Blue Demons stepped up the offensive pressure briefly as Martin collected a pair of saves in a five-minute span. Preseason C-USA Player of the Year Julianne Sitch slipped behind the defense in the 50th minute only to find Martin there for the save. The junior goalkeeper then stoned Kelly Lord at the near post on a Blue Demon corner.

Sophomore Dee Guempel made it a three-goal lead in the 61st minute on a well-executed combination. Hughes eluded some traffic in the midfield to find Winchell some 30 yards out in the middle of the field. The freshman one-touched a through ball to lead the charging Guempel toward the goal in stride. Guempel took on Deason and sent her diving to the right as the ball skated underneath her and into the goal.

The Billikens play their first full C-USA weekend next week, beginning in Houston on Fri., Oct. 1, at 7 p.m. Saint Louis then travels to TCU for a 1 p.m. contest on Sun., Oct. 3.