The SLU Billikens women’s soccer team celebrates winning its sixth straight league championship, Sunday afternoon at Hermann Stadium. (Image courtesy: SLU Athletics)
| Atlantic 10 Tournament – Final | 1 | 2 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|
| #2 La Salle (12-6-3) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| #1 Saint Louis University (17-2-2) | 2 | 1 | 3 |
Scoring Summary
| Time | Team | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 13:03 |  | Caroline Kelly (11) Assisted By: Emily Gaebe. |
| 27:50 | | Emily Gaebe (15) Assisted By: Caroline Kelly , Anna Lawler. |
| 56:12 | | Caroline Kelly (12) Assisted By: Hannah Larson. |
Paige Dale
Staff Writer
ST. LOUIS, MO — The way things change, they always stay the same.
That’s what the Saint Louis University women’s soccer team proved on Sunday, when it won its sixth straight Atlantic 10 Conference championship, by defeating La Salle, 3-0, in the tournament title game at Hermann Stadium.
Senior forward Caroline Kelly scored two goals, added an assist, and was named Tournament Most Valuable Player, following the win. Kelly, who now has 12 goals on the season, scored Saint Louis’ first and third goals on Sunday.
Teammate Emily Gaebe, the 2023 Atlantic 10 Offensive Player of the Year, notched her 15th goal of the season for the Billikens’ other score.
Saint Louis, now 17-2-2 on the year, captured the eighth A-10 Championship title in program history, and with it the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Championship, which starts Friday, November 10. SLU will learn its first-round opponent during Monday’s NCAA Selection Show, which will be streamed on NCAA.com at 3 p.m.
La Salle, the A-10 Championship’s No. 2 seed, is 12-6-3 on the year and will hope for an at-large bid into the national tournament.
Billiken goalkeeper Emily Puricelli recorded her 39th career shutout, which makes her the school record holder all by herself now, in what was SLU’s 10th straight shutout win and 16th straight game without a loss. Saint Louis hasn’t given up a goal since a 1-1 tie against Dayton on September 24 and hasn’t lost a game since a 1-0 loss against Xavier on August 31.
But the star on Sunday was Kelly, who put Saint Louis ahead for good in the 14th minute with an assist from Gaebe, whose shot was saved by La Salle goalkeeper Michela Auguadro. The ball deflected off the far post right to Kelly, who banged it in to make the score 1-0.
Gaebe extended her school-record goals total to 15 in the 28th minute, when she fired a rocket of a shot from just inside the box past Auguadro for a 2-0 SLU lead. Kelly and Anna Lawler got assists on the play.
Kelly, assisted by Hannah Larson, closed the scoring with her in the 57th minute. Larson dribbled in from the left side and split two defenders with a pass that Kelly put away, giving her a fourth career two-goal game and second this season.
After the game, Kelly, along with being named MVP, was joined on the 11-player All-Tournament team by Puricelli, Gaebe, Larson, Lyndsey Heckel and Hannah Sawyer.
2023 SLU Billikens Women’s Soccer NCAA Tournament Schedule
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location | Tournament |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 10-12, 2023 (Friday) | TBA | Home | First Round | TBA | NCAA Championship |
| November 17, 2023 (Friday) | TBA | Home | Second Round | TBA | NCAA Championship |
| November 19, 2023 (Sunday) | TBA | Home | Third Round | TBA | NCAA Championship |
| November 24-25, 2023 (Friday) | TBA | Home | Quarterfinals | TBA | NCAA Championship |
| December 1, 2023 (Friday) | TBA | Neutral | Semifinals | Cary, N.C. | NCAA Championship |
| December 4, 2023 (Monday) | TBA | Neutral | Final | Cary, N.C. | NCAA Championship |