Oct. 12, 2007

Box Score

Inability to finish on offense hurt the La Salle field hockey team on Friday, as they fell to Saint Louis by a score of 2-1.

It was a frustrating loss for the Explorers, who outplayed SLU for most of the afternoon. La Salle recorded 10 shots to the Billikens' four, and led in penalty corners, 11-4. Unfortunately for the home team, those stats didn't translate into a victory, as La Salle found itself on the wrong side of the only score that mattered.

The Explorers controlled the tempo for much of the first half, as their offense had the Saint Louis defenders on their heels. La Salle had multiple looks at the goal, but was unable to get on the scoreboard.

The Billikens' Molly Boyne broke a scoreless tie with less than three minutes to play in the first half, when her shot from the top of the circle was deflected high into the air and barely into the cage, nicking the crossbar as it passed through.

Early in the second half, Alex Weber found Jaclyn McGranahan, who beat goalkeeper Ellen Axelsen, making it 2-0 in favor of Saint Louis and leaving the Explorers stunned.

Facing a two-goal deficit, La Salle looked to unleash its high-scoring attack on a Billiken defense that had allowed nearly four goals a game.

In the 50^th minute, Christy Miller found Adrianna Lalli who drove home her second goal of the season, cutting the lead in half.

From there on out, each trip down the field ended in disappointment for the Explorers. The game ended with La Salle frantically attempting to push one through, but the Saint Louis defense, along with goalkeeper Amy Wasserman, held strong.

For the game, Axelsen had two saves, while Wasserman, who leads the A-10 in saves, had three.

The Explorers look to rebound on Sunday when they take to the road to face Richmond at noon.