The SMU women’s soccer team faced another tough road trip with losses to both the University of Alabama at Birmingham and the University of Memphis.
Friday night’s game against the UAB Blazers showed a determined SMU offensive and defensive front, but the Mustangs were still outscored 3-1. The Blazers scored first when Jill Porto scored on a pass from teammate Danya Barsalona in the 14th minute. UAB held a 1-0 lead through the first half.
The Blazers were the first to score in the second half as well when Sally Palmer had a goal in the 67th minute; the assist was credited to teammate Toni Gockel. SMU senior midfielder Allison Brill stepped up to put the Mustangs on the board in the 77th minute. Brill shot a pass from senior Kimber Bailey past UAB goalkeeper Kate Blankenship. This was Brill’s third goal of the season, tying her with teammates Kim Peabody and Kristin Medeiros for the team lead. UAB’s Barsalona sealed her team a victory when she scored an unassisted goal in the 85th minute, making the final score 3-1 UAB.
Lauren Shepherd, Brittainy Vice, and Bailey all had shots on goal, bringing the team total to nine shots, four of them shots on goal. The Blazers had 11 shots total, five of which were on goal. First-year goalkeeper Meagan Boyle had her first career start and had two saves in the game.
UAB improved to 7-6-1 overall and 3-2-0 in Conference USA play.
The Mustangs faced the Memphis Tigers on Sunday in what turned out to be a bad case of déjà vu from Friday’s loss. Memphis scored first when Krista Turner dribbled the ball four yards into the net off a pass from teammate Emiko Schwab in the fourth minute. The Tigers quickly increased the score to 2-0 in the 28th minute when Vendula Strnadova knocked in a pass from Kate Murphy.
SMU’s Brill scored the only point in the game for her team when in the 57th minute she knocked in the ball from the top right side of the net. The Mustangs were unable to score again, but Memphis put one more point on the board when Kylie Hayes had an unassisted goal in the 64th minute off a corner kick.
Brill currently leads the team with four goals after this weekend’s games. Shepherd and Vice both had shots on goal against Memphis, and Boyle made four saves in her second career start.
Memphis improved 11-2-1 overall, 4-0-1 in C-USA.
This weekend’s results leave the Mustangs at 5-7-1 overall and 1-5-0 in conference play. The team is currently ranked No. 10 in the conference.
The women’s team will play at home this weekend. Friday night’s game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start against the Rice Owls, followed by a 1 p.m. start on Sunday with SMU hosting the Houston Cougars.
