Emporia State coach Jim Schneiderhahn called it a fluke — perhaps a lucky bounce.
It was all Southwest Baptist needed to spoil ESU’s Senior Night at the TRYSA Soccer Complex on Saturday.
After 77 minutes of scoreless play, SBU’s Katie Johnson took advantage of a break, slipping the ball by ESU keeper Erin Allen to score the only goal in a 1-0 Bearcat victory.
“I think in a lot of ways, it was somewhat a synopsis of our season,” Schneiderhahn said. “These last couple of matches started very well, and things just didn’t go our way.”
Things certainly didn’t go the Hornets’ way on the events leading up to the goal.
With the opportunity to clear the ball, Allen came off her line to give it a boot.
Her kick was deflected by a player in front of her, bouncing directly to the feet of Johnson. With an open net in front, Johnson shot the ball by Allen and put enough on it to get it past a sliding Hornet defender.
The goal didn’t stop Schneiderhahn from praising his team’s effort against the 10-4-5 Bearcats.
“I felt that these last two matches,” Schneiderhahn said, “were the best that I had seen us.”
Baptist outshot ESU 16-10 in the contest. Allen finished with seven saves.
The match was the final game for both Allen and senior forward Andrea Harris. Both were honored in a pre-game ceremony.
ESU finished its season 3-15-1 overall, 1-12-1 in the conference.
After struggling all year to find an identity, ESU started to gain one in the final two matches against Missouri Southern and SBU, two of the best teams in the MIAA.
“We started to come out of our shell,” Schneiderhahn said, “and show that we can play college soccer.”
The best part for the Hornets might be gaining some consistency going into the next season.
ESU has gone four consecutive seasons with a new coach — a streak that will end next year as Schneiderhahn returns to the sideline for his second year.
“The game was over 10 minutes,” Schneiderhahn said, “and I was already chomping at the bit to get going with the offseason program.”
Schneiderhahn said there were times Saturday when he saw the attractive play and creativeness he was looking for with his team.
Whether that improvement can be carried over into greater success next year remains to be seen.
“We would all love to be fortune-tellers and say you’d be at the top of the standings (next year),” Schneiderhahn said, “but this is a very good conference.”