The University of Rhode Island women’s soccer team earned the No. 5 seed in the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament after a regular-season finale draw with Saint Louis University on Saturday.
The host Billikens clinched the A10 regular-season title before facing the Rams with a 2-0 win over Duquesne University on Oct. 25. They finished conference play undefeated.
Rhody, on the other hand, will head into the postseason winless since Oct. 17.
Saint Louis and Rhode Island met for a late Halloween game for the first time since last season’s A10 Semifinals, in which the No. 4 Rams upset the No. 2 Billikens in a 4-2 score.
There was not as much action in this season’s matchup, with the Rams and Billikens going 90 minutes without a goal. In their last three games combined, Rhody has scored just one goal.
In the Rams’ 1-1 tie with the University of Richmond and 1-0 loss to George Mason University, the Rams had 24 shots combined. Against the Billikens, they only recorded four shots.
“Honestly, I’m not really concerned about the offense,” URI head coach Megan Jessee said. “We went back and forth. There was quite a bit of a midfield battle. Obviously, Saint Louis is a very good team. I thought it was a good game to play right before the postseason.”
URI sits 12th in the conference’s shots on goal with 83 in 18 regular season games, while the Billikens are atop the conference with 134.
Fourth-year goalkeeper Dani Eden, who has crafted a 1.48 goals-against average in her 16 games played, made six saves against Saint Louis.
“I thought that was Dani’s best game of the year,” Jessee said. “I think she put all the pieces there. She was very good on high balls. She made a couple very good saves to keep us in.”
Jessee kept the Rams’ back line of fourth-years Aida Name, Jill Rosenfeld, Lily Camacho and second-year Natalie White from the game prior, as they fended off the Billikens’ offense.
Seven of Saint Louis’ 12 total shots came in the first half, four of them on target. Eden was forced to make two saves in the final five minutes of the half, keeping the score even.
Rhody’s two first-half corner kicks would be the only opportunities they’d get in the contest, but the Billikens, who didn’t have a corner in the first half, earned eight corner kicks in the second half.
URI’s lone shot on goal came in the 48th minute from fourth-year forward Megan Steinbach, and no other shots were taken by the Rams.
The Billikens generated extended time in the offensive zone after the 50th minute, producing four corner kicks in the span of eight minutes.
Eden made her last two saves within the final 15 minutes of the contest as the Rams and Billikens were unable to find the back of the net.
Two weeks following Rhody’s 1-0 loss to the Patriots on the road, the Rams will be traveling back to Fairfax, Virginia, for the A10 Quarterfinals on Saturday night.
“I think we’re going to put a lot of pressure on George Mason and force them to have to build out of the back,” Jessee said. “I think our pressing is really good. I think we could turn teams over in our attacking half, so we’re going to be aggressive and go out.”
