 Billikens Set For Tuesday's Home Opener Against New Mexico
Aug. 31, 2009
Vote for the Billiken Half-Century Team What's on Tap: No. 21 Saint Louis kicks off its 2009 men's soccer campaign Tuesday, Sept. 1, when it hosts New Mexico at Robert R. Hermann Stadium. Game time is set for 7 p.m. Following the Action: All Billiken home games are video streamed live through Billiken All-Access at www.slubillikens.com. Subscriptions are available for $79.95 annually or $9.95 a month. In addition, campus radio station KSLU will provide live audio of the match at kslu.slu.edu. GameTracker is available free of charge at www.slubillikens.com. Follow SLU Soccer on Twitter: For news and notes on Billiken men's soccer, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/SLUMensSoccer. In addition, the department of athletics has an official Twitter page at www.twitter.com/SLU_Billikens. Half-Century Team: As part of Saint Louis University's celebration of the "First 50 Years" of SLU soccer, fans will have an opportunity to choose the Billiken Half-Century Team, a roster comprised of 12 offensive players, eight defensive players, two goalkeepers and two coaches. Online voting is available here. The 24 Billikens named to the team will be recognized, along with the more than 450 SLU men's soccer alumni, at the Clemson match Saturday, Oct. 3, at 7 p.m. 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. In the Polls: In preseason rankings, the Billikens come in at No. 21 in the NSCAA coaches' poll and No. 24 in the CollegeSoccerNews.com poll. Also ranked are the following Billiken opponents: No. 3/6 Akron, No. 14/12 Tulsa and No. RV/18 Dayton. The Billikens also appear at No. 22 in the SoccerTimes.com coaches' poll.
About the Billikens: The Billikens return six starters and 15 total letterwinners from last year's club that finished 12-5-5 overall and 6-3-0 in the Atlantic 10 Conference. SLU qualified for its third straight NCAA Tournament and topped Drake 1-0 in the first round at Hermann Stadium. The 2008 season came to an end following a 2-0 defeat at Indiana in the second round.
Recapping the Exhibition Season: The Billikens received a goal and an assist from senior Jimmy Holmes and sophomore Mike Roach en route to a 2-0 victory against Missouri State at Hermann Stadium Aug. 22. Senior Ross Kaufman and freshman Mark Pais shared the shutout in goal. Roach got the scoring started in the ninth minute when he buried the eventual game winner off a pass from Holmes. Senior Tim Ream and Roach then connected with Holmes for an insurance marker in the 74th minute to deliver the 2-0 victory. A total of 19 Billikens saw playing time, including 12 newcomers. Against Memphis Aug. 26, the Bills yielded a pair of first-half tallies in a 2-0 loss on the Tigers' home field. Scouting New Mexico: The Lobos are members of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF), a league they have won six of the last eight years. Last season, New Mexico went 11-6-2 and 7-3-0 in league play, just missing an NCAA Tournament berth. The Lobos return seven starters from last year's squad, including forward Justin Davis and defender Simon Ejdemyr who earned first-team All-Conference honors. Davis' 20 points (7G, 6A) led the league last year, while Ejdemyr produced five goals. Goalkeeper Justin Fite started the last five regular-season matches in 2008 and went 4-1-0 with a 0.97 GAA. In exhibition action, the Lobos went 3-0-0 with victories against No. 12 Tulsa (3-2), Oral Roberts (2-0) and Colorado State Pueblo (4-0). New Mexico head coach Jeremy Fishbein, who was named the 2004 Soccer America National Coach of the Year after leading the Lobos to the College Cup, is in his 17th season as a collegiate head coach and eighth at UNM. He has a 194-91-25 career record and a 98-31-15 mark at New Mexico. Series History: Saint Louis leads the all-time series 2-0-0. The teams last met in 2002 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, where Jack Jewsbury tallied in the first half to give the Bills a 1-0 victory. The Billikens and Lobos also played in 1988 with the Bills coming away with a 4-0 victory. For Openers: Saint Louis is 4-1-3 in home openers during eight-year head coach Dan Donigan's tenure, but the Billikens have not broken into the win column in their last three (0-1-2). SLU's last season-opening victory was in 2005, a 3-0 blanking of UMKC at Hermann Stadium. Meanwhile, New Mexico is 4-1-2 in Jeremy Fishbein's seven years as head coach. On the Offensive: Seniors Kyle Hayes (11G, 5A) and Scott Wisniewski (10G, 7A) lead all returning players with 27 career points apiece. Hayes is the team's leading returning scorer from a year ago after he accumulated 16 points (6G, 4A). Senior Jimmy Holmes (nine career goals) also figures to be a key returning player who will contribute on the offensive side of the ball. Getting Defensive: Senior preseason All-American Tim Ream returns to a defense that ranked as one of the best in the nation. Last season, the Billikens led the Atlantic 10 Conference and ranked in the top 30 nationally in goals against average (0.76). In addition, the Billikens led the league in fewest goals allowed (18) and shutouts (11). Senior midfielders Josh Aranda and James Jaramillo, as well as sophomore Alex Johnston, also saw extensive playing time in the defensive third a year ago. In the Nets: Perhaps one of the biggest competitions in preseason camp occurred in goal. The Billikens return senior Ross Kaufman, who played the majority of the 2006 and 2007 campaigns and boasts a 22-5-3 overall record and a 0.73 goals against average. He is being challenged by U-18 U.S. National Team pool player Mark Pais, who made a pair of nice saves in the exhibition game against Missouri State. Transfer Time: Mike Roach, who spent two seasons with the Indiana men's soccer program, has returned to his native St. Louis and had an impressive debut in the scrimmage against Missouri State, scoring a goal and notching an assist. After appearing in 18 matches for the Hoosiers in 2007, Roach took a redshirt season in 2008, thus giving him three years of eligibility with the Billikens. Junior Stephen Bortolon transferred into the program from St. Bonaventure last season and should see time in the midfield this year.
Dan's Day: Ninth-year head coach Dan Donigan enters the season with a 103-35-23 career record. His .711 win percentage makes him the fifth-winningest active head coach in the country. Donigan has led the Bills to the NCAA Tournament in six of his eight seasons at the helm. In the last three seasons combined, Donigan's Billikens have posted a 35-11-11 overall mark and a 22-4-1 ledger in A-10 regular-season games. On the Sidelines: For the first time in school history, the Billikens will benefit from a full-time goalkeeper coach as Tim Kelly was brought on board this summer. Dave Beck returns for his fourth season, his first as the lead assistant, and former Billiken Brian Grazier is in his first season as senior graduate manager. In addition, U.S. National Team assistant coach Mike Sorber is again serving as a volunteer assistant coach. Looking Ahead: Saint Louis will participate in the Nike Portland Invitational this weekend. The Billikens face Washington Friday at 6:30 p.m. (CT) before taking on host Portland Sunday at 4:30 p.m. (CT). Virginia is the fourth team in the tournament. Saint Louis' next home game is not until Sept. 26, when nationally ranked Tulsa comes to town for Homecoming. |
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