Bill Barrett / Atlantic 10

Saint Louis Wins Record Fifth-Straight A-10 Women's Soccer Crown

11/6/2022 4:06:31 PM

ST. LOUIS – Top-seeded Saint Louis wanted to leave no doubt about winning their league-record fifth-straight Atlantic 10 Women’s Soccer Championship. The Billikens beat No. 2 Dayton, 4-0, Sunday afternoon at Hermann Stadium.
 
SLU, which also claimed the regular season title, won its seventh championship overall and earned the A-10’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA women’s soccer selection show is Monday, Nov. 7 at 4:00 pm ET on NCAA.com.
 
Saint Louis (19-1-0) was relentless on the offensive end, taking 190 shots, 10 of which were on goal. The Billikens got goal from four different players, beginning in the 20th minute when Hannah Larson converted a left-footed shot on a pass from Emily Groark. SLU scored its second goal of the first half right at 42:00 when Emily Gaebe scored in the bottom left of the goal following a feed from Hannah Sawyer.
 
Up by two in the second half, Saint Louis added its first insurance goal in the 53rd minute when Hannah Friedrich scored in the bottom right of the net, giving Groark her second assist of the game. The final SLU tally came in the 86th minute when Larson setup Caroline Kelly for shot in the middle. Groark, Larson and Kelly were all named to the All-Championship Team.
 
Dayton (16-3-1) took eight shots in the game, two of which were on frame, led by Diana Benigno, who was the Flyer’s semifinal hero and earned an All-Championship Team nod. UD keeper Batoul Reda also earned All-Championship honors and made six saves, three in each half on the 10 shots on goal she faced.
 
Gaebe had a game-high five shots for the Billikens, followed by Kelly and Larson with three each. Emily Puricelli made one save in net for SLU.
 
Lyndsey Heckel, who scored twice for Saint Louis in the early rounds, was named the championships Most Outstanding Player. In addition to Groark, Larson and Kelly, SLU also had Sophia Stram, Katie Houk and Brianna Halverson earn All-Championship honors. Dayton’s Italia Gemelli joined Benigbno and Reda and Saint Joseph’s Katie Cappelletti on the All-Championship Team.