CREVE COEUR- Westminster senior Emma Ballew is not a tall goalkeeper, but when measured in toughness, grit and courage, she is a towering presence between the pipes.
Ballew made eight saves, including brilliant stops during overtime and PKs as Westminster defeated Ladue 3-2 (4-3 PKs) Friday at Becky Sauerbrunn Field.
Westminster (8-1), which received goals from freshman Anna Ramsey and sophomore Alyssa Edwards, is off to its best start since 2018 when the Wildcats began the season 10-1.
Ballew and the Wildcats withstood a barrage of Ladue shot attempts throughout the second half and during both 10-minute overtime sessions, but continually made plays to prevent the ball from entering the net.
In the final 10 seconds of regulation, Ladue sophomore Darci Levinson raced down the right side and unleashed a shot that Ballew deflected inches wide with a fully-extended dive to her right.
In the second overtime, Ballew denied a right-footed blast by freshman Sarah Heil by leaping and tipping it over the crossbar.
“Their goalie made a great save in overtime,” Ladue coach David Aronberg said. “We had a ton of looks, but that’s soccer. You can be all over the net, but if you don’t score, you go to PKs.”
In the fifth round of PKs, Ballew dove to her left to deny a shot from Ladue junior Nephthys Prothro that was ticketed for the low corner. She paused on the ground for a moment, unveiled a huge smile, then raced to midfield to be mobbed by her teammates.
Ballew’s mental and physical strength in goal was an apt symbol for the toughness that Westminster played with throughout the game – a toughness that coach Bill Lawrence knew would be necessary against a powerful Ladue team.
“We were winning games, but we were getting bounced around and some of that was going in half (power). I challenged them to get two shinguards in there and go in hard,” Lawrence said.
Ladue (10-4) bounced a ball off the crossbar in the opening minute when a perfect cross from Heil was pinged into the frame by senior Rian Cooper, as the Rams noisily announced their arrival.
Heil’s dangerous crosses continued to produce scoring chances for Ladue and only a blocked volley by senior defender Ellie Reel and a flying interception by Ballew prevented the Rams from taking an early lead.
Westminster played with two starting midfielders out of the lineup, but sophomore midfielder Alyssa Edwards found time and space to operate. She often played the ball to the feet of freshman forward Anna Ramsey, who sent the ball out wide for a teammate to run onto.
“(Ramsey) holds the ball well, so we played off of her a lot. We worked on getting the ball deep and getting some crosses,” Lawrence said.
One cross returned to the foot of Ramsey, who pinballed off a defender and blasted a shot from 18 yards away to give Westminster a 1-0 lead in the 14th minute.
“I knew I was going to be pressured hard this game. I was prepared to use my body, and that’s what I did,” Ramsey said.
Four minutes later, another slick passing play left Edwards alone at the top of the box. She took a touch, then sent a rocket low corner that put Westminster ahead 2-0.
The two-goal advantage surprised the shorthanded Wildcats as much as it did Ladue.
“We were coming in kind of hesitant, but we just gave it everything we had and definitely brought the energy,” Ramsey said.
It did not take long for Ladue to answer. Less than two minutes after Westminster scored its second goal, Heil received a pass at the top of the box, turned and ripped a left-footed laser past Ballew to slice the deficit in half.
In the 34th minute, Ladue junior Nephthys Prothro tapped in a rebound off a booming shot from sister Balkis Prothro and tied the game 2-2 going into halftime.
“We haven’t been down much this year, let alone down two,” Aronberg said. “I was curious to see how we would respond, and I liked our girls’ fight.”
That fight continued in the second half as Ladue earned five corner kicks in the first 19 minutes. Dangerous deliveries by Ladue junior Amanda Armbruster were turned away by strong defensive plays from Reel, senior Emma Bertel and the flying fist of Ballew.
“I knew I had to be really aggressive today because of how strong their forwards are. I knew every ball had to be mine,” Ballew said.
And through collective aggression and toughness, Westminster withstood a relentless Ladue attack, went a perfect 4-for-4 in PKs, and achieved a signature win.
“I’m really proud of how everyone played so strong and kept fighting the entire game,” Edwards said. “We held each other accountable and it worked it out in the end.”
Ramsey added, “To be the underdogs and come out on top is a really good feeling.”
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