Hornets shutout win tightens AMC race

ST. LOUIS, MO – There was a lot on the line Tuesday afternoon in the American Midwest Conference match between two St. Louis rivals as Harris-Stowe visited the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy on a windy day at St. Louis University High.

The two teams played a scoreless first half-hour of play, but it was Jasmin Kraus that broke the scoreless tie in the 35^th minute of play. Kraus was open on the left wing and rifled a shot at Eutectics keeper Lauren Harding that she could not handle and went in for a 1-0 Hornets lead. The game stayed that way through the remainder of the first half.

The second half opened with a golden opportunity for the home club. Hannah Tyree made a long run down the right wing and then passed to Isabelle Rogers who offered some support. Rogers got taken down in the penalty box and the Eutectics were awarded a penalty shot. Rogers, who was recently elevated to team captain, took the PK but was turned aside by HSSU netminder Lena-Marie Winkler. Rogers had a rebound chance, but Winkler made the stop on that as well to keep it a one-goal HSSU lead.

The Hornets had a chance to give themselves some insurance with 13 and a half minutes left when they played a ball into the box to Katie Salomon. Salomon had to settle the ball to work around one defender. That allowed Harding to come out of the cage and aggressively challenge Salomon who never could get off a clean shot that could have made it a 2-0 lead. UHSP had another chance to even the score with six and a half left, but Winkler would make a kick save off a UHSP free kick taken by Bayleigh Colianno that with the wind was bending toward the far right corner of the net. The ball sailed over a number of defenders and almost surprised Winkler, but she was able to kick the ball away from danger and keep it a 1-0 game. Harris-Stowe was able to ride that score to the end of regulation and pick up the shutout victory.

UHSP got outshot in the game 10-6 over and 5-4 in shots on goal. Each netminder made four saves in the contest. A win by the Purple and Gold would have assured a top-four seed in the AMC Tournament and a first-round home game. Instead now with HSSU's win, there is a logjam in the middle of the conference race and we will have to wait the remaining few days of the regular season slate to see how things play out by the end of play on Saturday. The Eutectics get one more match before the start of the AMC Tournament when they host Missouri Baptist (5-8-1, 3-1-1 AMC) at 12:00pm on Saturday back at St. Louis University High.