Nationally-Ranked Billikens Open Men's Soccer Season in Los Angeles
Aug. 26, 2008
What's on Tap: After picking up a pair of exhibition victories, the Saint Louis men's soccer squad will officially get the 2008 campaign started this weekend when it travels to Los Angeles to partake in the Loyola Marymount University Fall Classic. Schedule of Events: The Billikens open their season, and the tournament, against San Diego on Friday, Aug. 29, with a 3 p.m. (CT) kickoff. On Sunday, SLU meets host LMU at 4 p.m. (CT) to conclude the tournament. All games will be played at Sullivan Field. New Mexico is also participating in the LMU Fall Classic but will not play the Billikens. Following the Action: Loyola Marymount will offer GameTracker for all matches this weekend. Links can be found at www.slubillikens.com. In addition, live audio of Sunday's match against LMU may be heard via the Lions' homepage, www.lmulions.com. For the season, all SLU home matches will be streamed live on the Billiken All-Access Channel. In addition to the matches, fans can view player interviews, highlights and the Dan Donigan Show. Subscriptions, which will be required for all regular-season and postseason matches, are available for $79.95 annually or $9.95 a month. About the Billikens: Saint Louis returns nine starters from a 2007 squad that finished 12-2-5, led by the Atlantic 10 Conference's Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year in Kyle Patterson (Birmingham, England) and Calum Angus (Portsmouth, England), respectively. Patterson led the team in scoring a season ago with 24 points (10G, 4A), while Scott Wisniewski (Dallas, Texas/Edward S. Marcus) netted 18 points (7G, 4A). Angus, an NSCAA second-team All-American, anchored a defense that yielded a league-low 13 goals last season.
For Tickets: Tickets for all men's soccer home games at Robert R. Hermann Stadium may be purchased at the ticket gate, by phone at (314) 977-4SLU or online at www.slubillikens.com. Prices for single-game tickets are $7 for adults, $5 for youth. Groups of 20 or more receive discounted tickets for $3 apiece. Students with a valid SLU ID card receive free admission. The next home game for the Bills is Saturday, Sept. 13, when nationally-ranked UConn comes to town for a 7 p.m. tilt. Exhibition Season: The Billikens posted a pair of wins during the exhibition season, a 1-0 triumph over DePaul and a 2-0 victory against Memphis. SLU controlled possession for the majority of play in both matches and out-shot its opponents by a combined 35-13 margin. The opposition managed only three shots on goals in the two games, all of which came in the first half of play, and three corner kicks in the 180 minutes of action. Hermann Trophy Candidates: Saint Louis has three players on the 2008 Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Watch List. Senior midfielder Eric Sweetin (Overland Park, Kan./Rockhurst) was named to the Watch List for the second straight season, while seniors Calum Angus and Kyle Patterson appeared for the first time. In November, the 48-member watch list will be narrowed to 15 semifinalists, with three finalists to be announced in early December. The award, presented to the nation's top collegiate soccer player, will be announced at the Missouri Athletic Club in downtown St. Louis on Jan. 9, 2008.
Preseason Nods: In addition to being named to the Hermann Trophy Watch List, Angus and Patterson have picked up several other preseason accolades. Angus was named a CollegeSoccerNews.com preseason first-team All-America selection, while Patterson was named to the second team. The duo were also named preseason All-Conference selections by Atlantic 10 coaches, as was senior forward Dado Hamzagic. In addition, freshmen Jonas Reiter (Redondo, Calif./South Torrance) and Keegan Smith (Dallas, Texas/J.J. Pearce) were named to the league's All-Rookie Team and were listed as two of the "100 Freshmen To Keep An Eye On in 2008." Scouting the Toreros: San Diego returns a strong core of upperclassmen from last year's squad that went 11-8-1 overall and 8-3-1 in the West Coast Conference. Picked to finish second in the annual WCC coaches poll, San Diego returns two of the top defenders in the conference in senior Sam Reeder and junior Tim Grey. Junior forward J.T. Howlan led the team in scoring last season with 18 points (7G, 4A). Returning at keeper at Kelin Briones, who played all but 11 minutes, 47 seconds last season. Briones was in goal for six shutouts and posted a 1.03 goals against average. He was strong in big games, yielding just eight goals in 12 conference games. Head coach Seamus McFadden is entering his 28th season at USD and sports a 294-210-44 record. He has led the Toreros to the NCAA Tournament in 11 of the last 15 seasons. The Billikens and Toreros have never met on the pitch. Scouting the Lions: Loyola Marymount has reloaded after a disappointing 2008 campaign. Despite finishing seventh in the WCC last season with a 3-16-1 overall record and a 1-11-0 mark in conference play, the league's coaches have picked LMU to place fifth in the conference standings. Loyola Marymount returns its top five scorers from a year ago, and the Lions' signed a strong 10-player recruiting class. Leading the way for LMU are senior forwards Rafael Baca and Brad Stisser. Last season, Baca registered nine points (2G, 5A), while Stisser had five points (2G, 1A). Sophomore keeper Patrick Lane returns after seeing the majority of minutes in the box last season as a freshman. He made 58 saves on the season and shut out the opponent on three occasions. Head coach Paul Krumpe is 90-85-20 in 10 seasons at the helm, and has led the Lions to the NCAA Tournament four times this decade. SLU and LMU first met last season at the Saint Louis Nike Classic at Hermann Stadium, with the Billikens escaping with a 1-0 victory thanks to a late goal by Brandon Barklage.
Back for More: Last season, the Billikens led the country with five team members being named to the NSCAA All-Region first team. All five of those players return in 2008. Senior forward Dado Hamzagic netted 14 points (5G, 4A) last season. Senior midfielder Eric Sweetin and junior defender Tim Ream (St. Louis, Mo./St. Dominic) also return in 2008. Patterson and Angus appeared on the first-team All-Region squad as well. Ream's Rundown: Junior defender Tim Ream will keep a blog this season, a feature available only on www.slubillikens.com. It will provide a behind-the-scenes look at the men's soccer squad and will be updated periodically throughout the year. Polling Place: In preseason rankings, the Billikens come in at No. 6 in the Soccer America Poll and No. 8 in CollegeSoccerNews.com's poll. Soccer Times has the Billikens at No. 11, TopDrawerSoccer.com lists SLU at No. 12 and the NSCAA coaches' poll ranks the Billikens 19th. The following Billiken opponents are also ranked in the Soccer America poll: No. 2 Connecticut, No. 9 Creighton, No. 15 Massachusetts and No. 17 Northwestern. Dan's Day: Dan Donigan, the 2007 NSCAA Mid-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year and the reigning back-to-back A-10 Coach of the Year, is 91-30-18 (.719) entering his eighth season at the helm. Donigan has led the Billikens to the NCAA Tournament in five of his seven campaigns. In the last two seasons combined, Donigan's Billikens have posted a 25-7-7 (.731) overall mark and a 16-1-1 (.917) ledger in A-10 regular-season games. NCAA History: The Billikens have qualified for the NCAA Tournament a record 44 times in the 49-year history of the event and have won a record 10 national championships. Saint Louis has a 65-32-5 (.662) record in NCAA Tournament action.
Great Fans:The Billikens averaged 2,116 fans for 10 home dates at Hermann Stadium last season, which ranked ninth in the nation. Saint Louis drew 5,758 fans for Homecoming against Central Florida, the second-largest crowd in Robert R. Hermann Stadium history. The Billikens led the nation in average attendance in 2003, 2001 and 1999. The Billikens have ranked in the top 10 since 1999. On the Sidelines: Once again, the Billikens boast a full complement of assistant coaches in 2008. Matt Tutton enters his second season as an assistant, while Dave Beck is in his third year with the Billikens. Martin Hutton is in his second season as a graduate assistant coach in charge of goalkeepers. In addition, U.S. National Team assistant coach Mike Sorber will again serve as a volunteer assistant coach. Transfer Time: The Billikens welcome three transfers to the team in 2008. Midfielder James Jaramillo (UCLA) and defender Andrew Park (Loyola Marymount) are eligible this season. Stephen Bortolon (St. Bonaventure) will sit out this season and begin his eligibility in 2009. What's New?: Dan Donigan and his coaching staff have brought in nine freshmen. The class, which was ranked as the 24th best by CollegeSoccerNews.com, features A-10 All-Rookie selections Jonas Reiter and Keegan Smith. |
|
