SLU’s Jess Pruesser battles Duquesne’s Jenna Santiago for the ball during Wednesday’s Atlantic 10 Tournament semifinal game at Hermann Stadium. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
| A-10 Tournament – Semifinal | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| #5 Duquesne (8-8-4) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| #1 SLU (16-2-2) | 3 | 2 | 5 |
Scoring Summary
| Time | Team | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 20:09 |  | Duquesne own goal GOAL By SLU TEAM. |
| 37:28 | | Hannah Sawyer (8) Unassisted. |
| 38:14 | | Julia Simon (3) Unassisted. |
| 46:57 | | Caroline Kelly (10) Assisted By: Izzy Luebbert, Sophia Stram. |
| 74:55 | | Hannah Sawyer (9) Assisted By: Jess Preusser. |
Paige Dale
Staff Writer
ST. LOUIS, MO — Hannah Sawyer scored two goals and Emily Puricelli made six saves to tie the school record for career shutouts, as top-seeded and No. 21-ranked Saint Louis University defeated fifth-seeded Duquesne, 5-0, in an Atlantic 10 Conference Women’s Soccer Championship semifinal match, Wednesday night at Hermann Stadium.
Saint Louis now advances to the tournament championship game, which will be on Sunday, November 5, against second-seeded La Salle, which defeated No. 3 Dayton, 1-0 in overtime, Wednesday night. Sunday’s Atlantic 10 title game between the Billikens and Explorers will be played at Hermann Stadium and will kick off at noon.
SLU defeated La Salle 4-0, when the teams played back on September 17. The Billikens scored all four of their goals in that game in the second half.
On Wednesday, SLU scored three times in the first half to take control of the game. The first score came in the 21st minute, when pressure near the Duquesne net forced an own goal that gave Saint Louis the lead.
In the 38th minute, Sawyer curled a corner kick inside the near post that nobody could get to, so it just sailed right into the net to make the score 2-0. Then, just before halftime, Julia Simon blocked a failed Duquesne clearance and banged home a shot to give SLU a 3-0 halftime lead.
In the second half, Caroline Kelly scored her 10th goal of the season in the 47th minute. And Sawyer added her second score, when she beat the Duquesne goalkeeper to a loose ball and slid it into the net for a 5-0 edge.
From there, the Billiken defense took over and smothered the Dukes’ frontline as it tried to mount a comeback. But Puricelli wouldn’t allow it.
The shutout was her ninth of the season and 38th of her career, matching Meghann Burke (1999-2002) for the most on the SLU women’s soccer all-time list. She also took sole possession of second place on SLU’s career saves list (249).
The winner of Sunday’s championship game will also earn an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. Being nationally ranked with a 16-2-2 record means Saint Louis has probably earned a spot in the national title tournament no matter what.
The NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Tournament Selection Show is set for Monday, November 6, at 3 p.m. and will be streamed live on NCAA.com.
| QUARTERFINALS – Friday, October 27 | |
|---|---|
| Match 1: No. 8 VCU at No. 1 SLU SLU won 2-0 | |
| Match 2: No. 5 Duquesne at 4 Massachusetts Duquesne won 2-1 | |
| Match 3: No. 7 Rhode Island at No. 2 La Salle La Salle won 2-0 | |
| Match 4: No. 6 Saint Joseph’s at No. 3 Dayton Dayton won 1-0 | |
| SEMIFINALS – Wednesday, November 1 | |
|---|---|
| Match 5: No. 5 Duquesne at No. 1 SLU SLU won 5-0 | |
| Match 6: No. 3 Dayton at No. 2 La Salle La Salle won 1-0 OT | |
| CHAMPIONSHIP – Sunday, November 5 | |
|---|---|
| Match 7: No. 2 La Salle at No. 1 SLU, 12 pm Watch Live Live Stats | |