Aug. 20, 2004

St. Louis, Mo. - Saint Louis hosted crosstown rival Lindenwood in a exhibition matinee and claimed victory this afternoon with four second-half goals. Senior forward/midfielder Ellen Rapp netted the gamewinner for the Billikens. Lindenwood controlled ball possession during the majority of the first half with freshman Fernanda Hoffmann scoring the game's first goal. Veteran Billiken keeper junior Julie Moeckel made four saves during the half and kept the Lions at bay with their penalty corners. Minding the net for Lindenwood in the first half was sophomore Louisa Robinson, who made the necessary one save. "We showed maturity by making adjustments after halftime," said head coach Maria Whitehead. "While we're a young team, the kids listened well and implemented the needed corrections during second-half play. We will need to focus on our fundamental skills this week before we host SMS in our season opener." The Billiken midfield utilized its quick passing game in the second half with sophomore Angela Lombardo scoring the initial goal. Junior Courtney Gasparovic, who returned to play after being out most of last season with an injury, netted the go-ahead goal for SLU. Lindenwood fought back advancing the ball past freshman goalie Amy Wasserman with senior Sara Strackeljahn's strike tying the match at two. Freshman Megan Agne gave keeper Robinson a 13-minute respite making one save, but allowing two goals. Wasserman made two second-half saves in relief of Moeckel. Saint Louis freshman Natalie Slyman did yeoman's work in the backfield insuring a Billiken victory as Rapp scored the gamewinner. Also making solid offensive contributions were junior forward Kelly Hellenga and Gasparovic. After taking several shots early, senior Marissa Lynn capped the scoring drive with her own goal with just under three minutes to play giving SLU the 4-2 tally. "We finished well in the circle today," analyzed Whitehead. "I expected the team to perform well as a unit, but was impressed by some of the individual performances. Julie and Amy were solid in goal boosting our confidence level." Saint Louis, a NorPac East Division member, opens its regular-season when it hosts Southwest Missouri State on Sat., Aug. 28, at 1:30 p.m., at the A-B Center. SMS resides in the NorPac West Division.