Aug. 28, 2009

Box Score

RICHMOND, Ky. - Eastern Kentucky scored four minutes into Friday's season opener for a 1-0 victory over Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in women's college soccer.

Lauren Imsande scored unassisted on a shot from 27 yards out on EKU's first shot of the game.

SIUE coach Derek Burton said the game was a tale of two halves with the Cougars coming out aggressive more so in the second half. He said the Cougars played the second half with momentum and with an edge.

"I feel I need to do a better job of ensuring that the team is ready for the first whistle," said Burton.

The two teams battled defensively. Burton pointed to freshmen Jenny Humphrey (Edwardsville) and Jennifer Tucker (St. Charles, Mo) as reasons for SIUE's strong play on defense. "Jenny and Jennifer played outstanding," Burton emphasized.

EKU edged the Cougars in shots 7-4. Burton said his team tried to create shots using the whole field and were dangerous at times.

"We did pretty well, but we couldn't connect that final pass," Burton said.

Brittany Bodziak (Schaumburg) led the Cougars with three shots. Freshman Shanna Hutchison (Normal) provided SIUE's only other shot.

EKU's Stephanie Lynch recorded the victory and picked up three saves along with the shutout. Stephanie Jung (Troy) recorded three saves for the Cougars.