Junior middle fielder Mario Garcia’s penalty kick goal in the 98th minute lifted UMSL’s men’s soccer team past third-seeded Drury and into the semifinals of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament. It was the Tritons’ first postseason victory since 2012. (Photo by Patrick Clark/Athlete’s Eye Photography)
Men’s Soccer
The University of Missouri–St. Louis men’s soccer team upset No. 22 Drury with a 1-0 overtime victory Saturday in the quarterfinals of the Great Lakes Valley Conference at Lake Country Soccer Complex in Springfield, Missouri. Mario Garcia delivered the only goal of the match on a penalty kick in the 98th minute as the sixth-seeded Tritons stunned the third-seeded Panthers. UMSL received the PK after an intentional handball by a Drury player denied a goal moments before. It was UMSL’s first postseason victory since 2012, when it advanced to the GLVC Championship before falling to Rockhurst. The Tritons had a 17-10 edge in shots, including a 7-4 advantage in shots on goal, and goalkeeper Will Winkler made four saves for his sixth shutout of the season. UMSL (8-6-3) will next play No. 7 Truman State at 7 p.m. Friday in Springfield, Missouri. The Bulldogs advanced to the semifinal round by winning a penalty kick shootout over No. 2 seed Maryville on Sunday after the teams were tied at 1 at the end of overtime.
Women’s Soccer
The eighth-ranked and top-seeded Tritons pulled out a hard-fought 1-0 victory over No. 8 seed Lewis to move onto the semifinals of the GLVC Tournament on Saturday evening at the Don Dallas Soccer Field. Maddy Kuhn scored the lone goal of the match in the 34th minute as she took a feed from Taylor Martin just outside the 18-yard box and lofted a shot into the top left corner for her fifth goal of the season. UMSL couldn’t add to the lead despite an 18-6 advantage in shots and had to hold on after a couple of chances in the waning seconds. Goalkeeper Allysa Wolf made one of her three saves in the last minute to preserve the win and her seventh shutout of the season. The Tritons (14-1-3) remain unbeaten since their opening match of the season and have now won four consecutive matches. They will face No. 5 seed Maryville at 4 p.m. Thursday at the Lake Country Soccer Field in Springfield, Missouri.
Volleyball
Six days after having its 15-match winning streak snapped, UMSL returned to the win column with a 25-17, 25-20, 23-25, 25-14 victory at McKendree on Friday in Lebanon, Illinois. The Tritons started slowly but still managed to take the first two sets against the Bearcats. McKendree scored five of the last six points in game No. 3, but the Tritons dominated the final stanza, hitting .400 with 16 kills against four errors in 30 attempts and a side-out percentage of 80%. Addison Voorhees finished with a match-high 17 kills, and Maggie Johnson and Alayna Santel had 15 kills each. Setter Marly Burbach handed out 49 assists and had a match-high 16 digs. UMSL (18-6, 10-1 GLVC) will remain on the road this week as it wraps up the regular season with matches at Rockhurst Friday and William Jewell on Saturday with the GLVC Tournament looming, beginning Nov. 12.
Women’s Golf
The Tritons wrapped up their fall schedule by finishing third out of 16 teams in the Las Vegas Desert Classic, which ended Sunday at Boulder Creek Golf Course in Boulder City, Nevada. No. 17 UMSL posted a combined score of 863 to finish 18 shots back of tournament winner Dallas Baptist. Runner-up St. Mary’s of Texas was four shots off the lead with a total of 849. Hillary Currier was the Tritons’ top individual performer, tying for third with a 54-hole total of 210. She shot 73 in the final round and tied St. Mary’s golfer Brielle Burns and Dallas Baptist’s Ella Cheek while claiming a spot on the all-tournament team. Sarah Cuney and Emmy Wahl finished in a tie for 15th with scores of 217. Mayan Covarrubias tied for 25th at 220. Dallas Baptist’s Gracie Grant was the individual medalist with a 54-hole score of 205 (71-66-68) to win by four shots over Arkansas Tech’s Jaylee Castro. The Tritons will be idle until opening up their spring schedule in mid-February.
