PHILADELPHIA - In a battle for first place in the Atlantic 10, the Saint Joseph's women's soccer team opened a two-goal lead in the second half and held on to beat Saint Louis, 2-1, Thursday evening at Sweeney Field.
Coming into the match tied with the Billikens for first in the conference with identical 5-0-1 records, it was the Hawks (13-1-2) who struck first as senior midfielder Emily Gingrich notched her ninth goal of the season in the 25th minute. Working off the left wing, Gingrich shielded off a defender and turned towards the goal before drilling an arching shot to the upper far right corner to make it 1-0 in favor of SJU at 24:20.
Despite being outshot 6-5 in the first half, the Hawks took their one-goal lead into the second period and quickly extended it to 2-0. Avoiding a defender after saving the ball from going over the right end line, sophomore forward Dakota Mills crossed a pass through the Saint Louis box to a cutting Lindsay Walder. In stride, Walder connected on the pass and deposited it into the open left side of the goal to put her team ahead 2-0 at 51:29.
Winners of five straight, the Billikens fought back to make it a one-goal game late in the match. Inside the Saint Joseph's box, Alyssa Seitzer found teammate Danielle Tolmais for a goal to make it 2-1 at 79:54.
Saint Louis (12-3-1) would continue to press the ball deep into the Hawks' zone, but the SJU defense responded each time to preserve the win and extend its unbeaten streak to 14 games.
For the game, each team finished with 10 shots apiece, while Saint Louis earned a 9-2 edge in corner kicks.
Individually, sophomore Grace Bendon picked up the win for SJU, while Gingrich improved her program record for goals to 41 and points to 98. Mills moved into fifth in single-season history for points with 28 on the year with her assist and Walder's strike was her second game-winning goal this season.
Saint Joseph's returns to action on Sunday when it hosts Davidson at 1 p.m.
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