Elmhurst, Ill. (SabreAthletics.com) – Behind a tenacious defense and a 40th minute goal by junior Leisa Conn, the Marian University women's soccer team went on the road and brought home a 1-0, confidence-building victory over host Elmhurst College at Langhorst Stadium, this evening, Oct. 8.

Conn broke through late in the first half with her third goal of the season and gave her team momentum heading into the second half. From there, the defense did the rest as they limited dangerous opportunities, forcing the Blue Jays to shoot over top of them for the majority of the match.

Marian improved to 4-6 overall with the victory, while Elmhurst dropped to 7-4 with the loss.

"I thought our team defense today made the difference," Head Coach Jason Murphy said. "We worked hard to clear balls and were able to keep their dangerous chances to a minimum."

In the first five minutes of the match, Brittany Syms rattled a shot off the post to set the tone for the Marian offense.

"We came out really fast," Murphy said. "[Elmhurst] settled in and we were able to score a goal before the end of the first half. That gave us momentum heading into the second half and we executed very well defensively."

Jaime Anderson and Kelly Kulinski paced a Marian backline, which played up the majority of the night, preventing clean looks on goal and forcing Elmhurst to try their hand at many hollow chances from the outside.

The effort culminated in the team's third straight victory heading into a pair of conference matches this weekend. The Sabres will head Rockford College this Saturday, Oct. 12, at 11 a.m. followed by a make-up date with Concordia University Chicago Sunday at 12:30 p.m.