Hilltoppers top conference with five consecutive victories

Brian Caudill|October 16, 2011

The St. Edward’s women’s soccer team looks poised to make another NCAA Tournament run. The Hilltoppers have won five straight games and currently have an overall record of 11-1-1. The Hilltoppers sits on top of the Heartland Conference with a 6-0-1 record in conference play.

The Hilltoppers got off to a 5-0 start before experiencing their only loss of the year to Central Oklahoma on Sept. 18. St. Edward’s entered the game ranked number 2 in NCAA Division II, but has since dropped out of the top 25. Central Oklahoma is now ranked 24th.

The Hilltoppers got back on track with a comeback win against conference rival Dallas Baptist. The Hilltoppers trailed 3-1 with less than five minutes to play, but were able to force overtime thanks to goals by Bethany Bennett and Ashley Villm. The first overtime ended without a goal by either team. In the second overtime, sophomore Rachel Murray scored the game winner off an assist from Ally Lindquist.

Since that thrilling win, the team beat four more Heartland Conference foes: St. Mary’s, Texas A&M International, UT-Permian Basin and Newman.

In the Battle of the Saints, St. Edward’s beat St. Mary’s 1-0 in overtime. Brianna Hinnenkamp found Murray, who scored her fourth game winning goal on the season. Murray now leads the team with nine goals and four assists. The Katy native has been recognized as the Heartland Conference Offensive Player of the Week twice this season in weeks Sept. 5 though 11 and Sept. 26 through Oct. 2.

Freshman Megan Anderson was recognized as the Heartland Conference Player of the week for Oct. 10-16 by the conference.

Anderson scored two goals against Texas A&M International and led the Toppers to a 3-0 victory. In the Hilltoppers’ rematch against Newman last Saturday, she scored two more goals in the 5-0 victory. The midfielder/forward now ranks second on the team in numbers of goals scored with five goals.

Against UT-Permian Basin last Thursday, St. Edward’s scored all four of their goals in the second half in the 4-0 win. Two seniors, Caitlin Reedy and Kelly Servage, each had a goal.

Reedy, a defender, rarely gets opportunities to score goals. “I’ve been wanting to score,” Reedy said. “I finally got one to

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Moments before the second goal was scored against the Patriots. “Those moments where you had to push yourself were a big highlight for me,” Reyes said. “This journey, this season, it was a moment. I think about how I started the season, focusing on things, on little things, and the things that were going to become big things too.”

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Irvin Abarca, who scored SEU’s first goal against Dallas Baptist University, dribbles against a Patriots’ forward. Throughout this season, Abarca has played all 17 games of the season, and accounted for four assists and scored his first goal during the Homecoming game.

SEU wins homecoming match against Dallas Baptist University 2-0

Freshman forward Christian Mezas runs up the field towards the box in an attacking effort against an Oklahoma Christian defender. Mezas was one of the players responsible for assisting Arthur Souza, who scored the goal for the Hilltoppers at the 82nd minute.

Arthur Souza’s late goal lifts Hilltoppers 1-0 over the Oklahoma Christian University Eagles

Annie Rocha shoots for a goal while a Texas A&M player tries to block her shot. Rocha was the player of the match, scoring both goals in the first half, just 10 minutes apart from each other.

St. Edward’s women’s soccer beat Texas A&M International University 2-0

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