Aurora defeated St. Benedict, 1-0 [box]

Spartans win Central Region battle
AURORA, Ill. -- On a cool fall afternoon on AU Field, the Aurora University Spartans defeated the Blazers of the College of St. Benedict 1-0. The match pitting two of the Division III Central regions stronger teams, found the host Spartans prevail and move their record to 11-2-1 on the season, while the Blazers fall to 12-2.

Aurora jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead 6:25 into the contest and would hold off a resilient Blazer squad for the victory. College of St. Benedict out shot Aurora 24 to 6 in the game, including a 13 to 2 advantage in the second half, with shots on goal being a 14 to 5 advantage in the game.

Spartan junior forward Allison Bailey tallied the goal (seventh on the season) in what turned out to be the only offense on the day for either squad.

Aurora sophomore goalkeeper Jenny Jarvis was strong once again for the Spartans in net, collecting 14 saves while earning her seventh shutout of the season. Sophomore forward Jessica Novickas had two shots on goal for Aurora.

Jarvis was aided by a strong Spartan defense that thwarted several Blazer scoring opportunities including several in the second half to preserve the shutout.

St. Benedict sophomore goalkeeper Shannon Strohm had four saves in the losing effort. Offensively, junior forward Tina Lisk had five shots on goal and junior Sam Vanderlinde had three shots on goal.

The win is Aurora’s 11th in a row (11-2-1; 7-0 NAC) and St. Benedict dropped their second straight contest (12-2; 7-1 MIAC). Both teams are in action again tomorrow as Aurora hosts Marian College in a Northern Athletics Conference contest (3:30 p.m.) and St. Benedict takes on the defending Division III champions, Wheaton College, at 2:00 p.m. in Wheaton, IL.