Saint Louis set up a one-two match up in the Marriott Conference USA Women’s Soccer Tournament final with its 1-0 victory over Louisville in Thursday’s second semifinal at the Billikens’ Raymond R. Hermann Stadium. The Billikens, who will be making their second-straight appearance in the tournament finals, face second-seeded UAB in the championship game on Saturday at 1 p.m.

The Billikens tallied their goal in the 37th minute when midfielder Cassi Winchell finished a rebound off a Maureen Hughes’ shot. U of L goalkeeper Meredith Miller made a diving stop on Hughes’ attempt, but the rebound went right to Winchell, who was standing unmarked in front of the goal.

“They are a very good defensive team,” Saint Louis Head Coach Tim Champion said. “I kind of expected it would a low-scoring game because they have not given up many goals this year. We just wanted to put one away and you like to get two or three, but it just doesn’t happen with teams of that caliber.”

Saint Louis kept up its offensive pressure throughout the match, but could not find the net again after unleashing a tournament-high 20 shots. Miller made six saves for the Cardinals, who managed to get just five shots off and three on goal in the contest.

Semifinal 1
(2) UAB 2, (3) Marquette 0
UAB reached the finals of the Marriott Conference USA Women’s Soccer Tournament for the first time in school history with a 2-0 victory over Marquette at Saint Louis University’s Robert R. Hermann Stadium. The loss was the Golden Eagles’ first ever in a C-USA tournament semifinal match after winning seven in a row dating back to 1996.

Midfielder Jill Porto, a C-USA All-Freshman team member, finished a cross by senior Tara Kidwell in the ninth minute to give UAB an early 1-0 lead. Both defenses tightened up after that until the Blazers added a late insurance goal to secure the win.

“We are excited,” UAB Head Coach Paul Harbin said. “We set some goals at the beginning of the season and fell a little bit short in the regular season, but now getting the opportunity to play for the championship is great. We have a good team and fortunately we are starting to put things together.”

Midfielder Liz Bosscher, who had a tournament-record three assists in the Blazers' opening round victory, scored the second goal when her corner kick caromed off Marquette goalkeeper Katie Bissen into an open net.

UAB held the advantage in shots at 14-8 and corner kicks at 7-6. The Blazers’ back line did a nice job holding the Golden Eagles to just three shots on goal, all of which goalie Katie Forbis corralled successfully. The Blazers will carry a six-match win streak into the championship final on Saturday at 1 p.m.

A complete schedule of the 2004 Conference USA Women's Soccer Tournament follows.

2004 CONFERENCE USA TOURNAMENT MATCH SCHEDULE

Wednesday, November 3
Match 1 - (2) UAB 4 vs. (7) Memphis 1
Match 2 - (3) Marquette 2 vs.(6) Charlotte 1
Match 3 - (5) Louisville 2 vs.(4) East Carolina 1
Match 4 - (1) Saint Louis 3 vs. (8) DePaul 1

Thursday, November 4 (Semifinals)
(2) UAB 2 vs. (3) Marquette 0
(1) Saint Louis 1 vs. (5) Louisville 0

Saturday, November 6 (Finals)
(2) UAB vs. (1) Saint Louis
1 p.m. (C-USA Television Network)

All times are Central.
All Games played at Robert R. Hermann Stadium, St. Louis, Mo.