What's on Tap: Saint Louis (16-4) hosts Fairleigh Dickinson
(10-5-6) Sunday in an NCAA Men's Soccer Championship second round matchup at
Robert R. Hermann Stadium. Game time is scheduled for 2 p.m. The winner of the
SLU/Fairleigh Dickinson matchup advances to face the winner of North Carolina
and UMBC next Sunday, Nov. 25.
Following the Action: Live statistics and a free video
stream of the game can be found on the NCAA's interactive bracket, located here.
Tickets: Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for
youth. SLU students receive free admission by showing a valid SLU ID.
How the Billikens Got Here: Saint Louis captured the Atlantic
10 Conference title last weekend to earn the league's automatic bid into the
NCAA Championship. SLU was selected as the national No. 8 seed, which resulted
in a first-round bye.
Billikens in the NCAA Tourney: Saint Louis is making its record
47th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Billikens own a record 10 national
championships. It is SLU's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2009.
Conference Title: The Billikens' 2012 A-10
Championship title is the 10th in program history. SLU won back-to-back Great
Midwest Conference tourney titles in 1991 and 1992. During its 10-year
membership in Conference USA, Saint Louis won the C-USA men's soccer tournament
on six occasions: 1995, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003. The Billikens also
claimed an A-10 tournament title in 2009.
Winning Ways: Saint Louis' 16 wins are the most since
the 2001 squad won 18 games. The school record for wins in a season belongs to
the 1991 team, which posted a 20-2-2 record en route to the NCAA semifinals.
In the Rankings: The Billikens are ranked in every
college soccer national poll. SLU comes in at No. 10 in the Soccer Times coaches
poll and No. 13 in the College Soccer News poll. The Billikens jumped to No. 12
in the NSCAA/Continental Tire rankings.
Billikens at a Glance: Ten players account for the
Billikens' 42 goals, led by sophomore forward Robbie Kristo, who has tallied 10 times and added five assists for
a team-leading 25 points. Sophomore Adnan
Gabeljic is second with 19 points (7G, 5A), while sophomore forward Kingsley Bryce has seven goals and
three assists for 17 points. Junior midfielder Alex Sweetin also has 17 points (6G, 5A). Junior defender Jon Roeckle has three goals and five
assists for 10 points, while freshman midfielder David Graydon chips in with two goals and team-leading five assists.
Junior goalkeeper Nick Shackelford
has started every game between the posts. He sports a 0.80 goals against
average and nine shutouts.
That's Offensive: The Billikens' 45 goals this year
are the most by a Billiken squad since the 2002 team scored 50 goals.
Getting Defensive: Saint Louis has been strong
defensively as of late. The SLU defense has yielded just four goals in the last
nine games, with five shutouts coming during that span. For the year, opponents
have scored multiple goals against the Bills just four times.
Scouting the Knights: Fairleigh Dickinson University, the
largest private university in New Jersey with 12,000-plus students, is located
in Teaneck, N.J., a suburb of New York City. FDU won the Northeast Conference
title after a penalty-kick shootout to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA
Championship, then upended St. John's 1-0 on the road to advance to the second
round. The Knights are 10-5-6 overall and went 6-1-3 in conference play. Jack
McVey leads the team in scoring with 15 points (5G, 5A), followed by Nico
Wright (5G, 2A) and Jan Aubert (4G, 2A). Antony Moore scored the game-winning
goal against St. John's in the 36th minute, and the Knights defense staved off
13 SJU shots to record the shutout.
Series History: Sunday will be the fifth meeting
every between the squads. The series is tied 2-2. The first meeting occurred in
1960. The last time the teams met was in 1981, with the Billikens posting a 4-1
road victory.
SLU Coaching Staff: Mike McGinty, the 2012 A-10 Coach of the Year, is in his third
season as the Billikens' head coach. He was hired in March 2010 after an
11-year stint at the University of Virginia, where he served as associate head
coach for the 2009 NCAA national champion Cavaliers. McGinty's three-year
career coaching record is 31-21-4. He is aided by assistant coaches Jason O'Keefe and Mark Santel, goalkeeper coach Franco
Carotenuto and student assistant coach Blake
Schneider.
All-Championship Team: Sophomore forward Kingsley Bryce, the A-10 Championship
Most Outstanding Player, was one of four Billikens named to the A-10
All-Championship team, joining junior forward Adnan Gabeljic, sophomore forward Robbie Kristo and junior goalkeeper Nick Shackelford. Bryce scored the game-winning goal in all three
victories, while Gabeljic and Kristo registered a goal and an assist apiece.
Shackelford allowed just one goal and made seven saves in the tournament.
Six Named All-Conference: Sophomore forward Robbie Kristo earned first-team
All-Conference plaudits, while junior midfielder Alex Sweetin, junior defender Jon Roeckle and sophomore defender Anthony Manning were named to the second team. Freshman
midfielder David Graydon was
selected to the All-Rookie team, while junior forward Adnan Gabeljic was chosen to the All-Academic team.
Kristo Nabs A-10 Player of the Week: Saint Louis sophomore forward Robbie Kristo was named A-10 Player of
the Week Oct. 15. Kristo buried the game-winning goals in victories against No.
21 VCU and Richmond. His goal against VCU came in double overtime.
Lee Recognized by College Soccer
News: Saint Louis
sophomore defender Raymond Lee was
named to College Soccer News' National Team of the Week for his performance
against Creighton Sept. 22. Lee scored twice, including the game winner, in
helping the Billikens to a 3-1 victory against the then No. 7 Bluejays.
Graydon Named A-10 Rookie
of the Week: Saint Louis freshman
midfielder
David Graydon earned A-10
Rookie of the Week honors Sept. 4. He tallied the game-winning goal in SLU's
3-1 win against UMKC. Graydon has started every game this season for the Bills.