To make bronze requires a little alchemy: you mix a little bit of tin with copper, maybe add some other metals depending on the type of bronze you want. You can then mold bronze into whatever shape you desire, perhaps even a boot.
The alchemy for a 6-1 SLU win is a little different. You get Emily Gaebe a brace. Secondary scoring from players like Lucie Schwartz contributes. Hannah Larson and Emily Fox find themselves on the score sheet for the first time this season. Julia Simon finally gets her second. The defense has to be close to perfect.
Technically, only the men's portion of Sunday's doubleheader at Citypark, St. Louis's professional soccer stadium, is known as the Bronze Boot. On the men's side, the tradition dates back to 1971, although it took a brief hiatus when Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville (SIUE) dropped to Division II status. The rivalry resumed in 2018 when SIUE returned to Division I.
On the women's side, SIUE and SLU have played against each other dating back to 2011, benefitting from playing at Citypark for the past two years. It's a regional rivalry that SLU has dominated, with a 7-1-1 series lead. Playing in an MLS stadium adds heft to the experience and is something that players on both sides look forward to.
"Being able to play at Citypark, that's fun," fifth-year goalkeeper Emily Puricelli said when asked about places that she would miss playing in. She also noted that the Citypark pitch "[it's] really fast, that's something our team has to get used to because it's so wet and the grass is so perfectly manicured."
That pace could be seen as it took 14 minutes for SLU to net their first goal, an Emily Gaebe header from an Izzy Luebbert corner.
Prior to the goal, passes could be seen going slightly awry or catching both SLU and SIUE players off guard with the speed at which the ball came at them. There was still plenty of quality, made all the more noticeable by the errant passes or players slipping up and down the touchline.
However, by the second half, SLU had found their footing. It would be Gaebe who once again got things started with a superb individual effort in the 58th minute. Beating her defender on the dribble, Gaebe cut the ball across the box and took a deft touch to slot the ball past the keeper and make it 2-0 SLU.
After Gaebe's brace, the floodgates were open with Gaebe returning the love and assisting Julia Simon on a goal in the 60th minute.
There was a brief interlude where SIUE found the back of the net on a set piece of their own. With SLU committing a foul just outside the box on the left side, Macie Begley sent a ball into the box that MaryClaire Imig put into the back of the net. Imig's second goal of the season made it 3-1 SLU with about 25 minutes left in the game.
Less than a minute later Hannah Larson would ice the game, scoring her first of the season and making it 401 SLU. Larson's tap-in was thanks to a stunning ball by Rylee Howard who had taken the ball to the end line and sent in a high ball that curled towards the goal. SIUE goalkeeper Samaya Hogg got a glove to, pushing it across the face of the goal and unfortunately right into Larson's path with a far post run.
Like Gaebe before her, Larson shared the love by turning around and assisting on Emily Fox's 69th-minute goal to make it 5-1.
Redshirt freshman Lucie Schwartz would score the final goal of the game, in front of her entire family. Schwartz took advantage of a bouncing ball and chaos in the box to poke the ball into the back of the net and make it 6-1 SLU.
So, while the game can't quite technically be called the Bronze Boot, it was marketed as the Bronze Boot Doubleheader with an attendance of 1,500 fans. With a little alchemy, someday soon it might officially be a Bronze Boot (or its own unique derby title!) match.
As it stands, the no.19 ranked Billikens will likely prefer the outpouring of offense to hoisting a trophy, though both would be nice. Scoring has been the Billikens' Achilles Heel this season, so the 6-1 win heading into their last non-conference match against no.15 Xavier is a huge confidence booster. Now, it's all about whether or not SLU can replicate the alchemy that unlocked their offense in the first place.