THE RUNDOWN
AUSTIN, Texas – The No. 6-ranked St. Edward’s University women’s soccer team defeated Newman, 2-0, Saturday behind goals from junior Stephanie Evans and sophomore Ashley Valsin-Luu at Lewis-Chen Family Field.

Valsin-Luu put the Hilltoppers ahead, 1-0, in the 38’ off of a corner kick from Evans. The kick sailed into the 18-yard box, finding the head of Valsin-Luu and eventually rolling past the outstretched hand of the Jets’ goalkeeper.

Evans recorded her first-career goal for St. Edward’s in the 64’ to make it 2-0, Hilltoppers. Senior Whytneigh Duffie sent a long pass into Newman’s half where Evans knocked it into the net off of the hand of the goalkeeper. 

The St. Edward’s defense held Newman to no shots in the final 27 minutes of play. Ocoee Wilson made two saves as she recorded her eighth-straight shutout.

HIGHLIGHTS

·       SEU is now 6-0-2 overall and 4-0-1 in the Heartland Conference – atop the league standings.

·       Wilson has yet to be scored on as a Hilltopper with eight shutouts and a record of 6-0-2.

·       The Steamboat Springs, Colo., native leads the nation with more than 770 scoreless minutes in goal.

·       Wilson’s 0.00 goals-against average and 1.000 save percentage rank first in NCAA Division II.

·       Valsin-Luu scored her first goal since Nov. 3, 2016.

·       Evans’ first goal as a Hilltopper came on the fifth shot of her SEU career.

·       Duffie’s last assist came on Sept. 17, 2016 against Oklahoma Christian.

·       Duffie has appeared in 65-career games for SEU – seventh-most since 2012.

·       Kelly Andrus has 25-career shots on goal.

·       The last time SEU recorded eight-straight shutouts was 2013.

·       St. Edward’s last unbeaten start through eight games came in 2013.

·       The Hilltoppers have gone unbeaten in 20-straight Heartland Conference matches.

·       Head Coach Nick Cowell’s career record is 397-120-39 overall and 181-34-18 at St. Edward’s.

STAT OF THE GAME I
821 – The Hilltoppers have not surrendered a goal in 821 minutes of action, dating back to the 63' of the first-round match of the NCAA Tournament in 2016.

STAT OF THE GAME II
 11 – St. Edward’s has 11 shutouts in its last 15 matches, dating back to 2016.

TOP QUOTE
Head Coach Nick Cowell on Stephanie Evans…
“Stephanie has been pushing hard to get more playing time. She’s been giving India Wentz a break, usually half way through the first half. We’ve been trying to get Stephanie to be more confident and take players on 1-on-1. She’s starting to do that and has added more offense to her game.”

Junior Stephanie Evans on her goal and assist…
“Whytneigh’s (Duffie) ball to the outside left was an easy ball to pop in the goal. Ashley (Valsin-Luu) is a really tall player, so on the corner I was aiming for her head and it worked out.”

WHAT’S NEXT
The Hilltoppers host St. Mary’s Thursday in the ongoing Battle of the Saints series at 4:30 p.m. at Lewis-Chen Family Field. Live stats and video will be available at GoHilltoppers.com.

Follow St. Edward’s Women’s Soccer all season long on Twitter and Instagram using the handle @SEUWSoccer.

GoHilltoppers.com

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