(ST. LOUIS, MO. – Feb. 4) – The McKendree University women's soccer team lost an exhibition match against Saint Louis 4-1 on Thursday.
After a strong defensive performance from the Bearcats in the first half, the Billiken's would open the second half with three straight goals.
Allison Frederking (Weldon Springs, MO/Incarnate Word Academy) would score McKendree's only goal of the game with an assist from
Morgan Cervera (Saint Peters, MO/Francis Howell Central) at the 66-minute mark.
"We kind of trained for (that moment to happen)," McKendree head coach
Tim Strange. "We wanted to see if we can get one behind (their net). We're not going to get a ton of chances, but when we get a chance, can we finish it off? And we did."
The Billiken's would outshoot the Bearcats 16-1, while the Bearcats would earn seven saves.
Of those seven saves, starting goaltender
Mercedes King (Troy, IL/Triad) would get four of them in the first half, and
Abby Tucker (Wentzville, MO/Timberland) earned three saves in the second half.
The outcome wasn't what the Bearcats we're looking for, but there were positive moments for the team to build on heading into Great Lakes Valley Conference play later in the month.
"The first half was incredible," Strange said "We defended like we wanted to. We took what we trained for in our practice sessions and put (that effort) out there in a game, and I was really happy to see that. It was a little bit of a let-down for the first part of that second half, but if we can play teams at a high-level, then I think we're looking for great things this year.
