Billikens Face UC Riverside and Portland in Omaha
Sept. 3, 2008
Atlantic 10 Conference | Ream's Rundown What's on Tap: The 11th-ranked Saint Louis men's soccer team travels to Omaha, Neb., this weekend to participate in the Diadora Challenge, hosted by Creighton University. SLU faces UC Riverside and Portland in the tournament. Schedule of Events: The Billikens open the tournament against the UC Riverside Highlanders on Friday at 4:30 p.m. On Sunday, SLU faces Portland in an 11 a.m. tilt. Saint Louis and Creighton will not meet at the tournament, though the two sides will play each other on Oct. 4 at Robert R. Hermann Stadium. Following the Action: Creighton will offer live stats for all matches this weekend. Links can be found at www.slubillikens.com or gocreighton.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 are required for all regular-season and postseason matches, are available for $79.95 annually or $9.95 a month. About the Billikens: Saint Louis is coming off the Loyola Marymount Fall Classic that saw the Billikens post a pair of double-overtime draws. In the season opener, freshman back Brent Hellesen connected on his first career goal to help SLU salvage a 1-1 draw against San Diego. On Sunday, the Billikens twice rallied from one-goal deficits to post a 2-2 tie against host Loyola Marymount. Kyle Patterson opened the scoring for the Billikens, and Brandon Barklage scored on a 35-yard blast in the waning minutes to push the game into overtime.
All-Tournament Team: SLU finished tied for second in the LMU Fall Classic and had four members on the All-Tournament team. Brandon Barklage earned the nod after scoring late in the Loyola Marymount match to send the game into overtime. Three Billiken defenders - Alex Johnston, Tim Ream and Rob Viviano - also landed on the All-Tournament team. 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 goal 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 Soccer America and 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 UC Riverside: The Highlanders are in search of their first win of the season after dropping a pair of matches against nationally ranked foes California and UCLA. In its season opener, UC Riverside yielded three goals in the first 12 minutes of play as California rolled to a 3-1 win. Cesar Diaz netted the goal for UCR with Joel Crompton and Doug Thrasher assisting. On Sunday, the Highlanders were shut out 3-0 by UCLA. Last season, UC Riverside finished 5-6-8 overall and in fifth place in the Big West Conference with a 2-4-6 mark. Head coach Junior Gonzalez is in his fifth year at UCR with a 19-42-11 record. This marks the first meeting between SLU and UC Riverside. Scouting Portland: The Pilots, who were an NCAA Tournament team a year ago, are 1-0-1 on the season after a 2-2 draw against Virginia Tech and a 4-0 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson. Sophomore forward/midfielder Frankie Lopez collected nine points (4G, 1A) in the two games en route to West Coast Conference Player of the Week honors. In addition, Lopez landed on various National Teams of the Week. Senior forward Bryan Irwin and freshman defender Ryan Kawulok have also entered the scoring column for the Pilots, who out-shot their opponents 40-21 over the weekend. Head coach Bill Irwin is in his sixth season with a record of 47-42-14 overall. The Billikens and Pilots have met once before, in the first round of the 1993 NCAA Tournament. The teams played to a scoreless draw with SLU advancing on PKs. Polling Place: The Billikens appear in every major collegiate men's soccer poll. They come in at No. 11 in the Soccer America Poll and No. 12 in CollegeSoccerNews.com's poll. The NSCAA coaches' poll ranks the Billikens 23rd overall and second to Charlotte in the NSCAA Middle-Atlantic region. The Soccer Times coaches' poll is expected to be released late Wednesday. The following Billiken opponents are also ranked in the Soccer America poll: No. 2 Connecticut, No. 9 Creighton and No. 16 Northwestern. A-10 opponent Charlotte is ranked 24th in the NSCAA poll, and Dayton and UMass are receiving votes. Dan's Day: Dan Donigan, the 2007 NSCAA Middle-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year and the reigning back-to-back A-10 Coach of the Year, is 91-30-20 (.716) in eight seasons at the helm. Donigan has led the Billikens to the NCAA Tournament in five of his seven campaigns. In the last three seasons combined, Donigan's Billikens have posted a 25-7-9 (.720) 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. Robert R. Hermann Stadium: The Billikens are tough to beat on Robert R. Hermann Stadium's state-of-the-art natural grass surface. SLU is 71-15-11 (.789) in eight seasons at Hermann Stadium, including 6-1-2 last season. In those eight seasons, the Billikens are 6-2-2 on their home pitch 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. 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. |
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