(Courtesy Saint Louis Athletics)
Michelle Schwarz scored her first collegiate goal in the 74th minute to lift Saint Louis to a 3-2, come-from-behind win over Saint Joseph’s Sunday afternoon in Atlantic 10 Conference women’s soccer action at Sweeney Field.
The victory halted a two-game losing skid for Saint Louis (6-7, 1-2 A-10), which defeated Saint Joseph’s for the first time since 2007. The last four meetings prior to Sunday resulted in three draws and a Saint Joseph’s win. The Hawks, who downed A-10 preseason favorite Dayton Friday afternoon, slipped to 8-7, 1-3.
Schwarz’s game-winner was scored unassisted at the 73:42 mark. She fired a shot from the left side of the box past challenging Saint Joseph’s goalkeeper Allison Ebling.
Cristina Rodriguez got things going early for the Billikens. Rodriguez tallied her fourth goal of the season, and second in as many games, at the 8:22 mark. Kirsten Clemens registered her team-high-tying fourth assist on the play.
Saint Joseph’s built a 2-1 halftime lead on Emily Gingrich’s ninth and 10th goals of the year. The equalizer was unassisted at 10:42, and the go-ahead goal was a penalty kick at 19:26.
Saint Louis earned a 9-2 advantage in corner kicks, and one of those paid off handsomely. When Saint Joseph’s failed to clear a Billiken corner, Danielle Tolmais gathered the loose ball and banged in her second goal of the season at 61:28 to make it 2-2.
Hanna Benben made six saves for SLU. Livi Logan-Wood tied her season high of four total shots and equaled her career best of three shots on goal.
The Billikens play four of their final five regular-season games at home beginning Friday, Oct. 17, with a clash against Fordham at 5 p.m. That contest will be followed by the SLU men taking on Duquesne at 8 p.m.
