SIUE falls to Denver in college women’s soccer match

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville women’s soccer Coach Derek Burton said the final third of Friday’s 2-1 loss at Denver featured its best play of the night.

“The final 30 minutes was our best stretch,” said Burton. “We were playing proactive instead of reactive. I told the team I want to bring that last 30 minutes into Sunday.”

The Cougars, 1-1-1, will look to rebound Sunday in a 2 p.m. CDT matchup at Colorado State.

“They (Denver) had two really nice goals,” said Burton. “They were really nice finishes that shouldn’t have gotten that far, but it was because we didn’t apply pressure quickly enough.”

Leah Swander scored first for Denver at 16:51 with an assist to Heather Turcios. The eventual game-winner came at 37:42 on a shot from the top of the box from Lilly McSwain.

Burton said he was pleased that SIUE sandwiched a goal in between and answered Denver’s opening charge.

“We did answer, and I was proud of that,” he said.

Emily Grahl scored her first goal of the season at 21:37 on an assist by Peyton Roehnelt. It was a heads-up play by Roehnelt at midfield in which she spotted Grahl, who ran on to the pass and made Denver goalkeeper Brittany Wilson came out of the net. Grahl side-stepped Wilson and pounded the ball into the net.

“Caroline Hoefert, in my mind, was out best player tonight,” said Burton. “She created chances and played really well. She was making things happen all night.

“I was happy for Emily to finish. It’s nice to see her and Caroline – upper classmen finding some success.”

Burton said the Cougars weren’t consistent enough against a team that picked up its first win of the season.

Denver outshot SIUE 13-7 while SIUE goalkeeper Juli Rossi finished with four saves.

“We didn’t put a complete game together,” he said. “We weren’t consistent. We were hesitant and playing on our back foot. You’re not going to win many games especially on the road when you are hesitant.”

This story was originally published August 27, 2016 at 5:43 PM with the headline "SIUE falls to Denver in college women’s soccer match."