Oct. 26, 2007

Box Score

ST. LOUIS - Junior back Molly Hartmann picked a perfect time to notch her first career goal, scoring with 3:31 remaining in the second overtime to lift Saint Louis women's soccer to an important 2-1 Atlantic 10 Conference win over Rhode Island at Robert R. Hermann Stadium Friday night.

The victory snapped a two-match winless streak for the Billikens, who improved to 9-4-2 overall and 6-1-2 in the A-10. Rhode Island, which lost for a second consecutive outing, slipped to 10-5-2 overall and 4-3-1 in league play.

Standing 22 yards out, Hartmann controlled a high-bouncing ball and sent a looping shot past Rhode Island goalkeeper Jackie Fede for the game-winning marker.

Rhode Island's Deb Nelson put the Rams on top with a tally 14 minutes into the contest. She settled a pass from Dora Larusdottir, and from the right side unleashed a rocket toward the goal. SLU keeper Hannah Koesterer was in good position and got both gloves on the blast, but the momentum slowly carried the ball across the goal line to give URI an early 1-0 advantage.

Several minutes later, Alyssa Mautz had a chance to equalize, but her point blank shot was stoned by Fede. On the subsequent counter-attack, Koesterer had the be sharp on a 15-yard blast from the Rams' Jessica Babice.

A brilliant individual effort by Julia Bradenberg produced the equalizer at the 26:22 mark. With possession near the top of the box, she held the ball until she was unable to produce an open shot, then buried her second goal of the season into the lower right corner.

Before intermission, URI nearly went ahead 2-1 when Nelson let go a shot that got behind Koesterer. However, Sally Sinclair was parked on the right post to clear the ball off the line and secure a 1-1 tie heading into halftime.

Rhode Island entered the contest second in the A-10 in shots, and the Rams showed why by out-shooting the Billikens 20-11. However, SLU did not allow a Rhode Island shot in the second extra frame.

Koesterer collected a career-high 10 saves, while Fede stopped four Saint Louis shots on net. The Billikens earned a 7-4 advantage in corner kicks.

Saint Louis continues A-10 action on Sunday, hosting Massachusetts at 1 p.m.