Aug. 28, 2004

St. Louis, Mo. - Saint Louis University field hockey defeated SMS 2-1 in overtime this afternoon in the season opener for both teams. The Bills came from a 1-0 deficit late in the second half with senior Ellen Rapp tying the game at two with 2:30 left on the clock. Rapp tipped the ball in from an assist by senior Marissa Lynn. SLU mounted an offensive overtime period with Rapp netting the game winner off another assist by Lynn to claim the 2-1 victory. During the first half of play, the Bills spent ninety-five percent of the period on defense. While the Billikens were staunch on the five called penalty corners favoring SMS, the offensive line was timid in forming an attack, were not able to penetrate the striking circle and did not take a shot during the period. Senior Gabby Gomez scored the Bears' initial goal off a Liz Miyashita pass just as the clock expired. Billiken junior goalkeeper Julie Moeckel made one save as the Bears' other nine shots were fired wide of the net. Sophomore midfielder/back Michelle Sinclair made a defensive save during her solid performance and shut down the Bears' offense on several scoring opportunities. SLU responded in the second half by mounting attacking plays, penetrating the circle and taking advantage of a penalty corner opportunity, with Rapp recovering the rebounded ball and scoring on a stroke by Lynn. A tremendous and vocal crowd of 223 cheered the teams on, with the benches as vocal and raucous as the fans. Six members of the Bears' squad hail from the St. Louis area and had good representation in the crowd, along with players from several area high school teams. The Bears' Gomez played solidly throughout the game taking five shots and keeping the Bills defensive line on the alert. Entering the overtime period, SLU demonstrated better ball control and endurance to conquer the Bears as Rapp fired a shot from Lynn past Jessie Lininger at the 6:07 mark. "While it's good to begin the season with a win," head coach Maria Whitehead said, "our overall performance was disappointing. We were fortunate to have been down by just 1-0 after that first half. We need to address some issues before we face Saint Joseph's next Sunday. "Julie Moeckel played the game of her life providing us with the opportunity to take advantage of the situation. The fans certainly added some great electricity to the game and aided us towards the win." Saint Louis will host Saint Joseph's on Sun., Sept. 5, at 1 p.m., at the A-B Center. This will be just the second meeting between the two schools and a preview of the competition level in the Atlantic 10 conference, which Saint Louis will join next season.