SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Missouri S&T women's soccer team was back on the pitch Sunday afternoon for the first of three straight matches on the road as they lined up opposite Drury at Harrison Stadium. The Miners (3-3-2, 2-2-2) and Panthers (8-1-0, 6-0-0) were scoreless through the first 45 minutes of play, but a pair of second half goals for Drury proved to be the difference in a 2-0 contest.
 
The Panthers controlled the pace of the match for much of the first half, outshooting S&T 8-4 in the opening period. Kristin Steins (Ballwin, MO/Parkway South) recorded her first save of the game in the 22nd minute to keep DU off the board and made two more saves in succession just about 10 minutes later to keep things scoreless. The Miners managed a few shots in the closing moments of the half from Paige VanDaele (Cottleville, MO/Francis Howell Central), Paige Jackson (St. Louis, MO/Incarnate Word Academy), Danielle Hopkins (Naperville, IL/Neuqua Valley) and Sydney Gratz (Geneva, IL/Geneva), but all four missed their mark as the half concluded in a scoreless tie.
 
Drury kept applying the pressure on offense as the second half began, launching a pair of shots in the first five minutes before finding the net for the day's first goal in the 54th minute from Tara Simon to take the lead and in doing so, ended the Miners' shutout streak at 453:14.
 
S&T looked the net the equalizer in the 62nd minute on a shot from Andersyn Foster (Belleville, IL/Althoff Catholic) but was denied on a save by the Drury keeper. Drury doubled their lead in the 66th minute on an Elsa Gonzalez goal and showed no signs of relenting, continuing to get looks on goal over the final 20 minutes of play.
 
Another shot from Jackson sailed wide in the 82nd minute as the Miners were unable to mount a comeback and fell short to open the road trip 2-0.
 
Steins finished the day with four saves in goal before handing things over to Viktoria Johnson (Granite City, IL/Granite City) for the finals 16 minutes, during which she also notched a save. As a team, S&T was outshot by the Panthers 19-6, including a 7-1 edge in shots on goal. Drury also finished with an 8-6 advantage in corner kicks.
 
Up next for the Miners, they make the trip east to St. Charles for a match with Lindenwood Friday evening, with kickoff scheduled for 5 P.M.