Women's Soccer

Cougars Halt Norse’s Streak
         SIUE women’s soccer coach Lynda Bowers and her Cougars did something on Sunday that no team had done in a Great Lakes Valley Conference regular season game since October 9, 1999. The Cougars defeated 10th-ranked Northern Kentucky 2-0 to improve their record to 6-3 overall and 4-0 in GLVC play.
         “That is as good as it gets in the regular season,” said Bowers.
         SIUE’s win ended a streak that had seen the Norse compile a record of 40-0-5 during GLVC regular season play since the Cougars defeated the Norse 3-1 five years ago.
         Kristine Armstrong (St. Peters) led the way for SIUE over the weekend. Armstrong had two goals in the Cougars 3-0 shutout of Indianapolis on Friday night, and she assisted on both of the SIUE goals on Sunday.
         “She has done a lot of things that an average spectator does not see,” said Bowers. “She is just doing the right things right now. I can see that she is such a valuable player on the field.”
         Along with Armstrong, the Cougars have received solid play from senior Ann Crawford (St. Louis), who had two goals including the game winner over the Norse on Sunday. She leads the team with six goals on the season, and that ties her for third in the GLVC.
         “She has had some great opportunities so far, but some of the teams have just made outstanding saves against her,” said Bowers. “This last weekend has given her a ton of confidence. It was great to see her score this weekend.”
         The Cougars have recorded four shutouts in their last five games that have led to a five-game winning streak. Senior goalkeeper Jessica Brown (St. Louis) picked up her first shutout of the season against Northern Kentucky.
         “She was really begging to play the (Northern Kentucky) game,” said Bowers. “I knew that she would really be ready for the game. She has really stepped up so far this year.”
         Freshman Katie Yearian (Waterloo) netted her second goal of the season against the Norse. “She has a lot of speed,” said Bowers. “If I need to counter speed I will just put in Katie.”
         Juniors Kelly Dill (Florissant) and Lindsey Kampwerth (Highland), and sophomore Kayla Fromme (New Berlin) played well for SIUE in the two contests.
         The Cougars will play William Woods at Korte Stadium on Wednesday at 7 p.m. before traveling to Wisconsin-Parkside and St. Joseph’s on Friday and Saturday afternoons.
         -siue cougars-