The University of Southern Indiana claimed a 1-0 victory against the University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) women's soccer team during Friday's Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) matchup in Evansville, Ind.
 
"We started the game quite well and then we had a spell where we dropped off," UIS coach Erin Egolf said.
 
During the 33rd minute, Ryley Hancock setup Emilie Blomenkamp to make an upfield drive. Blomenkamp chipped a shot inside the box and gave Southern Indiana (4-3-2, 3-1-1) the lead. Hancock earned the assist. UIS goalkeeper Paloma Guijarro managed to get a hand on the shot, but the shot just cleared for the goal.
 
"It was a bit unlucky to concede on the deflected shot, but Southern Indiana came at us several times."
 
Kimmie Rickson, Allison Hackett and Kara Cipole each contributed shots on goal for the Prairie Stars (1-6-2, 1-4). Maggie Juhlin, Angela Dagnino and Erin Bolskar each provided shots.
 
Courtney Spicer tallied a team-high three shots for Southern Indiana. Taylor McCormick, Katlyn Andres, Maggie Winter, Hancock and Blomenkamp each registered two shots apiece, while Madelyn Juenger added a shot.
 
Southern Indiana's Emily Hopkins recorded a three-save shutout. The reigning United Soccer Coaches (USC) NCAA Division II Player of the Week put together her third-consecutive shutout.
 
Guijarro faced 12 shots and came up with 11 saves.
 
Southern Indiana outshot UIS by a 14-6 margin and held a 12-3 advantage in shots on goal.
 
"It's hard to win matches when you don't score goals. It's hard to score goals when you only have six shots in a match. If we can find more success in the attacking third, we will be fine."
 
UIS meets Bellarmine University (5-3-1, 3-1-1) in a GLVC matchup on Sunday at 11 a.m. CT in Louisville, Ky.
 
"Our focus now is on Sunday where we will play a good Bellarmine team. If we bring the positives from this match and span it over a full 90 minutes, it will be a good day for us."