ST. LOUIS – Saint Louis battled Saint Joseph's to the final whistle Friday afternoon at the SLU Field Hockey Complex, but the Billikens came up just short, falling 2-1 to the Hawks in Atlantic 10 Conference action.
The Billikens (2-5, 0-1 A10) fought back after Saint Joseph's (3-4, 1-0 A10) built a two-goal lead in the third quarter. SLU continued to pressure the Hawks throughout the fourth quarter and pulled goalkeeper Abby Schalow in the final minutes in an effort to find the equalizer, but Saint Joseph's held on for the conference victory.
Saint Joseph's struck early, with Adele Jardemar scoring just 2:12 into the contest off a penalty corner with assists from Monica Piccioli and Lily DeWan. The Hawks carried the 1-0 advantage into halftime.
After Saint Joseph's extended its lead to 2-0 on a goal from Cat Arentz at 32:19, the Billikens answered just 31 seconds later. RB McGowan put SLU on the board at 32:50, tipping home a long feed from Ida Tharandt to make it a 2-1 game.
The Billikens continued to battle over the final two quarters, generating opportunities and earning a penalty corner early in the fourth. Sierra Larson also had a scoring opportunity in the fourth quarter that went wide, while Saint Joseph's goalkeeper Avi Wagner made one save to preserve the lead.
Schalow kept the Billikens within striking distance throughout the afternoon, recording seven saves. Saint Joseph's finished with an 11-3 advantage in shots and earned six penalty corners to SLU's one.
The Billikens resume A10 play next Friday at VCU.
