Nov. 10, 2006

Box Score

ST. LOUIS - Saint Louis knocked off Drake 2-0 in a first-round matchup at the NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament on Friday night at Robert R. Hermann Stadium on the campus of Saint Louis University. With the win, the Billikens advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight year and will face No. 15 Illinois, which knocked off Southeast Missouri 2-0 earlier in the night.

The game was delayed at the start due to severe weather that postponed the preceding Illinois/SEMO match, but Saint Louis did not wait long to claim the lead. Off a Dee Guempel corner kick in the 19th minute, Mary Green found the ball at her feet about five yards out. She struck the ball to the far post, but a Drake defender was camped out on the post to deflect the ball away. But Maureen Hughes, perfectly positioned in the box, pounced on the rebound and buried the ball to the back of the net for her seventh goal of the year and a 1-0 Billiken advantage.

Saint Louis led 1-0 at the half after controlling possession for a big part of the stanza. SLU out-shot the Bulldogs 10-3 in the frame and held a 2-1 advantage in corner kicks. Drake keeper Jenny Schroeder made three saves in the session to help keep the Bulldogs close, while her SLU counterpart Hannah Koesterer stopped one shot in the first session.

Guempel nearly made it a two-goal advantage seven minutes into the second half. After gaining possession at midfield, she dribbled to near the top of the box and sent off a hard-rising shot that nailed the underside of the cross bar and popped out for a Bulldog clear.

Julia Bradenberg, the Atlantic 10 Conference Rookie of the Year, made it 2-0 in the 80th minute. Cassi Winchell maneuvered past a defender on the endline and sent a feed to the center of the box to Bradenberg. With one touch, she launched a shot just under the crossbar for her team-leading 10th goal of the season. Moments later, Bradenberg almost tallied her second goal of the game after sending a shot from 25 yards that a sprawling Schroeder managed to corral to protect the two-goal deficit.

Overall, SLU out-shot the Bulldogs 20-5 and held a 6-1 advantage in penalty corners. Koesterer made two saves in the shutout, while Schroeder stopped seven shots for the Bulldogs.

The Billikens and Fighting Illini meet Sunday at 1 p.m. at Hermann Stadium in the NCAA Second Round. It is the second time this season that the Billikens and Illini will face each other, as SLU came out on the winning end of a 2-1 double overtime matchup earlier this year at Hermann Stadium. Bradenberg scored both goals in that contest for the Billikens.