Story written by Sports Information student intern Ryan HickmanFULTON, Mo.—The William Woods University women's soccer teams' 2015 season came to a heartbreaking end on Friday night, as with 48.5 seconds left, the Lindenwood University-Belleville Lady Lynx netted the game winner and defeated WWU, 1-0.
The Owls (10-7-2; 8-3-1 AMC), entered the game as the No. 4 seed in the American Midwest Conference (AMC) Tournament, while the Lady Lynx (11-8; 7-4 AMC), came in at No. 5. From the get-go, both teams' were physical in the first half, as each looked to grab the early advantage.
With the amount of physical action and strong play on defense, however, for both respective teams, the two squads combined for a total of five shots in the first 45:00 minutes of play.
The Owls had a couple of great scoring chances in both the 14
th and 15
th minute, however, on her first attempt, senior
Jordan McNamara's shot was saved by Lady Lynx goalie Luisa Santillan. In her second scoring chance, she received the ball in the box, but her shot went just over the net, which kept the game scoreless.
Despite controlling the pace of the game in the first half, WWU was unable to grab the early advantage, so both teams' headed to the break, tied 0-0.
In the second half, the offense really picked up for both WWU and LU-Belleville, as right out of the gate, freshman
Rebecca Sturgess had to make two key saves, off Raven Loughridge's foot.
The Lady Lynx continued its offensive push, as they outshot the Owls 14-7 in the final frame, but the WWU defense and Sturgess continued to stand tall.
William Woods had another couple scoring chances, with the first coming in the 69
th minute, as McNamara got behind the Lady Lynx defense, after a ball was lifted up ahead for her, however, Santillan came up with the big save, which kept WWU scoreless.
In the 71
st minute,
Renee Meyer had a scoring chance of her own off a free kick, but her shot from 25 yards out went just over the crossbar.
As the clock continued to tick-down, it looked as if the game was headed to overtime the way the goaltenders and defenses were playing.
That all changed at the 89:13 mark, as LU-Belleville got the ball in the box and had its first shot attempt bounce off the post, but Kathryn Blomenkamp was able to get past the WWU defense and score her first goal on the year, giving the Lady Lynx the 1-0 victory.
McNamara, led the way with three shots on the night, while
Brooke Hendrix contributed two. In net, Sturgess played very well, making four saves.
With the tough defeat, the Owls season comes to an end, as they finished with at least 10 regular season victories for the fourth consecutive season, while its eight AMC wins tied the program record.
Fans make sure to stay updated on wwuowls.com later this month for a full season recap and awards for the women's soccer team.
