Women's Soccer: Southeastern Louisiana 3, UTSA 0
Written by Kemmler Chapple (SLU Athletics)
Friday, 16 October 2009 21:01
SLU News
Southeastern Posts Convincing 3-0 Win Over UTSA in Battle of Southland UnbeatensHAMMOND – Squaring off against one of its fellow Southland Conference leaders, the Southeastern Louisiana women’s soccer team emphatically answered the challenge with a 3-0 victory over UTSA in league action Friday afternoon at the STYSA Soccer Fields.
The win kept Southeastern (10-3, 4-0 SLC) unbeaten in Southland Conference play and helped the Lady Lions tie a school record with their seventh consecutive victory. UTSA (9-7, 4-1 SLC) suffered its first Southland Conference defeat and had its six-match winning streak snapped.
Southeastern is 4-0 in league play for the second time in school history and the first time since 2003. Its current winning streak that began with a 2-0 win over Louisiana-Lafayette on Sept. 20 matches the run that 2003 squad from Sept. 26-Oct. 12, 2003. Southeastern’s 10th win of the season marked the fourth straight season the Lady Lions notched double-digit victories and the 10th time it has reached that mark under 12th-year head coach Blake Hornbuckle.
Senior Jenna Oney, freshman Maiya Cooper and freshman Lauren Stillians all scored goals for the Lady Lions, while seniors Candice Wallace and Gloria Burkhart each were credited with assists. Those five, along with freshman Karly Dagys, junior Natalie Santana and freshman Kerry McWhirter, kept the pressure on the UTSA defense, out-shooting the Roadrunners, 13-9.
The Lady Lion defensive backfield of sophomore Kyle MacIntosh, junior Nicole Brannigan, senior Dana Mayer and junior Brittany Prieto continued its dominant play, limiting the opportunities of the Southland Conference’s second-leading scoring team and posting its eighth shutout of the season. Through 13 matches, Southeastern has allowed only eight goals all season.
Southeastern also benefited from one of sophomore Lacey Bockhaus’ most impressive performances of the season. The San Leandro, Calif. native was credited with four saves and posted her seventh shutout of the season, making several nice stops, directing the defense and displaying excellent decision making on the way to lowering her season goals against average to 0.62.
Southeastern did not attempt its first shot on goal until the 19th minute, but made it count when it finally did. Wallace penetrated the UTSA defense and found an open Oney on the right side. Oney drilled a shot past diving Roadrunner goalkeeper Dacia Webb to put Southeastern on top, 1-0, with her third goal of the season. The assist was the 20th of Wallace’s career, moving into her a tie for second place with Santana on the school’s career list.
Both teams had near misses in the remaining minutes of the first half, but could not capitalize. Southeastern headed into the halftime break holding a one-goal advantage.
Southeastern came out more aggressive in the second half and quickly took over the match. 13 minutes into the second period, Cooper willed her way deep into the UTSA box, beat Webb and put a shot in from close range to push the Lady Lion advantage to 2-0.
The goal was the team-high 12th for the Hawthorne, Calif. native, who has scored at least one goal in seven consecutive matches. With 27 points on the season, Cooper moved into eighth place on the school’s single-season list.
Stillians put the final exclamation point on the win in the 84th minute. Burkhart played her the ball outside of the UTSA box and Stillians powered in a long rocket shot into the upper right corner of the net to provide the final 3-0 margin. The goal was the third of the season for the Manhattan Beach, Calif. native. With seven assists on the year, Burkhart is now tied for the ninth-highest single-season assist total in school history.
The win sets up a showdown with defending Southland Conference regular season and tournament champion Texas State, which also had a 4-0 league record heading into Friday’s match at Nicholls State.
The Lady Lions will host the Bobcats on Sunday at 1 p.m. The match is tentatively scheduled to be held at the Southeastern Soccer Complex, but should the field conditions still be poor, preliminary arrangements have been made to move the match to the STYSA Soccer Fields. Check LionSports.net for the latest updates on Sunday’s match location.
