Titans survivie trip to Maryville, 1-0

The Titans traveled to St. Louis on Saturday to take on a feisty Maryville University team. Although not playing our best soccer, the team managed to survive and win 1-0. The game winning goal was scored by Caroline Leighton off an assist from Elizabeth Sinclair in the 66th minute.

The statistics indicated that we only out-shot the hosts by a 12-10 margin, but I think the host statistician kept totals that were flattering to Maryville. We never really conceded any dangerous chances, and while Alli was credited with 9 saves, none were particularly challenging. Contrast this with the performance of the Maryville keeper who was credited with 10 saves and several were of the spectacular variety, both in the first and second halves, keeping her team in the game.

Disclaimer: this is not an excuse for less than exemplary performance, however the field we played on at the Sportport Complex in Maryland Heights was, shall we say, substandard at best. As a result of a dry, hard, dirt-filled surface, the ball was bouncing higher than normal and not taking very direct paths as it traveled across the ground. This made for a not-so-pretty game to watch, especially in the first half. However, we did find two great chances to score in the first 45 minutes, only to be turned away be fine goalkeeping each time.

The second half was played nearly entirely in the Maryville end, save the final few frantic minutes when they pushed numbers forward trying to equalize. We managed to pressure the Maryville goal regularly and finally broke through when Elizabeth and Caroline combined on the goal. We had several other chances to put the game to bed, but unfortunately couldn't get the second goal.

We are back in action at Lake Forest College on Wednesday afternoon for a 4:30 kickoff, and then head back to St. Louis to face #11 Washington University next Sunday afternoon.

Go Titans!