ROLLA, Mo. – The Missouri S&T women's soccer team took to the turf at Allgood-Bailey Stadium for the final time in 2021 Sunday afternoon, playing host to Lewis in the regular season finale for both teams ahead of the GLVC Championships set to start next weekend. The Miners (8-5-3, 7-4-3) and Flyers (9-5-2, 7-5-2) played a tightly contested match from start to finish, but an own goal by the visitors in the second half ended up being the difference as S&T closed out the regular season with a 1-0 victory.
Paige VanDaele (Cottleville, MO/Francis Howell Central) fired the first salvo of the afternoon in the third minute, looking to get S&T on the board early but she was turned away by the Lewis keeper.
Danielle Hopkins (Naperville, IL/Neuqua Valley) had her first look on goal just minutes later but she misfired off target left.
The Flyers first shot of the game came in the 13th minute, but it sailed harmlessly off to the left. VanDaele fired a shot on goal in the 15th minute but like earlier, she was denied by the keeper. Two more shots came from Lewis in the minutes that followed, the first missing high right and the second being saved by Steins. VanDaele had her second look of the day during the sequence as well but her shot was saved to keep the match scoreless.
After two more shots from Lewis in the 22nd minute, Gratz lined up her second shot of the day looking to get S&T on the board but another save dashed those ambitions. The final 15 minutes of the half saw things slow considerably. Shots were hard to come by for both teams but Lewis managed a pair in the closing minutes but had nothing to show for them, as one sailed off target and the other was saved by Steins to close the first 45 minutes.
Sydney Gratz (Geneva, IL/Geneva) came out firing for Missouri S&T to open the second half, managing three shot attempts in the first 20 minutes but having nothing to show for her efforts. Lewis had a look on goal in the 63rd minute but Steins was there to make the save.
The only goal of the game came in the 74th minute. With S&T applying the pressure on offense, VanDaele drove into the box, trying to shake a defender to get a shot opportunity. The Lewis goalie dashed out in an attempt to break up the play and managed to do so, but the ball continued on towards the goal line. The Flyers defender gained a step on VanDaele as a result and managed to get a foot on the ball but instead of clearing it wide of the goal, deflected the ball off the right post and into the net for an own goal to give the Miners the lead.
Shots were limited in the closing minutes of action, as Lewis tried to find a way to even the score and force overtime. A last-minute shot attempt sailed high off target, and as the clock hit triple zeros, S&T emerged with a 1-0 win on Senior Day.
Gratz finished with four shots in the game while VanDaele had three of her own. Steins turned in her ninth shutout of the season and posted four saves on the afternoon. The Flyers outshot the Miners 11-9 over the course of the 90 minutes Sunday.
The Miners' win Sunday capped a 5-0-2 season on home turf, the first unbeaten season at home in program history and is the most home wins in a season since 2019, when S&T also recorded five wins on home ground. The shutout was the 11th of the season for the Miners, tying the program record for most shutouts in a season set back in 1997.
Up next for S&T, the first round of the 2021 Great Lakes Valley Conference Women's Soccer Championship. After the conclusion of league action Sunday, S&T secured the sixth seed for this year's rendition of the event, and will travel to Kirksville next Sunday November 7 to take on third-seeded Truman State in a 1 PM match.
