Friday night the UIS women’s soccer team took on the Panthers from Drury for a Great Lakes Valley Conference match. Going into the match, the Drury Panthers were three places higher than the Stars in the conference standings.

The Stars, going into the game were 2-3-1 overall and 1-3 in GLVC conference play. While the Drury Panthers were 4-2 overall and 2-2 in conference play. The match between the two teams was bound to be a great game.

The game started with both teams going up and down the field trying to move the ball and gain the upper hand. Both sides were able to hold their ground and keep the other team at bay. This went on for quite a while, until Panther forward Shelby Hatz found an opening in the Stars defense and scored Drury’s first goal of the night.

The first half ended with the Drury Panthers leading the Stars 1-0.

During the second half, the Stars came out ready to play. The Stars attacked the Panthers defense trying to find an opening and getting some great shots off. The Stars outshot the Panthers 5-3 in the second half.

However, in the sixty-second minute of play, Hatz would once again step up and score off of an assist from Panther midfield Kelly Gallagher. This sealed the deal for the Panthers as the Stars were unable to get the ball past Drury’s keeper Kelsey Vaught.

When asked about the game, head coach Pete Kowall commented “we knew who their best player was and we forgot about it in the game and we let her go.” He also said “We stayed organized, we got forward, we had a few chances but didn’t create enough chances. We had a moral victory in the second half because we took it to them, but it wasn’t an actual victory.”