LOUISVILLE, Ky. - SIUE women's soccer led early and never looked back, as the Cougars took down Eastern Kentucky, 3-2, in Tuesday afternoon's season opener.
Taylor Dolt got the scoring started for SIUE with a strong goal in the 39th minute in A quick five minutes later, Mackenzie Litzsinger showed why she was named a Player to Watch in the Ohio Valley Conference, taking a pass from Lily Schneiders to score her first goal of the season. Kayla Klipsch led the Cougars' attack through much of the match, assisting on Dolt's opening goal and netting the game winner in the 73rd minute. Taylor Spiller stood between the sticks for the full 90 minutes, posting four saves on six shots on goal.
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"As you can imagine, we were all absolutely thrilled just to play first and foremost," said SIUE Head Coach Derek Burton following the victory. "I anticipated our first game back to be more about playing with an undeniable passion to compete than a clean beautiful masterpiece. We had a few key aspects we wanted to focus on, but mostly it was about getting back to what we've missed so much."
Today's match, which was held at the Louisville City Football Club Training Facility in Louisville, Kentucky, due to poor field conditions at Eastern Kentucky University, marks the first of 10 matches set to be played this season, with all matches being played against fellow OVC members.
"Credit to the players for rolling with all the location changes, in addition to everything else they're challenged with," said Burton. "But without question, the lack of real opponents for over a year has a real impact. The conference only schedule is not ideal, but it's where we find ourselves, and each OVC school does as well."
Coach Burton also spoke to relying on the leadership of program's veterans, saying "We wanted to rely on our experienced players, do what we do well, and just fight for a win to get started."
The Cougars will open their home schedule on Friday, as SIUE welcomes the Austin Peay Governors to Ralph Korte Stadium in a match that is scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m.
"Heading into Friday, we look at video and talk about how we can clean things up," continued Burton. "How we build on things we've been working on, and be ready to go at Korte Stadium Friday night."
