 Men's Soccer Faces Loyola Chicago Saturday at Toyota Park
Sept. 9, 2009
Vote for Billiken Half-Century Team | Directions to Toyota Park What's on Tap: Coming off an opening-week slate of three games that left the Billikens with a 1-2-0 record, Saint Louis will play one game this week, a Saturday night tilt against Loyola Chicago at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill. Game time is set for 7 p.m. Following the Action: Soccer fans can follow Saturday's game on GameTracker by following the link on www.slubillikens.com. 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 home matches at kslu.slu.edu. GameTracker for all home games 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 by clicking here. The voting will close Sunday, September 20, at 9 p.m. (CT). 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 receive free admission.
In the Polls: The Billikens are receiving votes in the latest NSCAA and SoccerTimes.com coaches' polls. Akron, the Billikens' opponent Sept. 20, is ranked first in both polls. A Glance at the Bills: Saint Louis enters Saturday's tilt with a 1-2-0 record. Following a home loss to New Mexico in its season opener, the Billikens topped Washington 2-1 on a neutral field in Portland, Ore. Sophomore Mike Roach scored an early goal, and sophomore Beau Bellomy tallied the eventual game winner for win number one. Portland, however, came away with a 3-1 victory last Sunday. Scouting Loyola Chicago: The Ramblers enter Saturday's matchup with a 1-0-1 record. They opened the season with a hard-fought 0-0 draw on the road against Creighton, which was ranked sixth in the country at the time. Loyola Chicago followed with a dominating 4-0 performance against Canisius last Saturday in its home opener. Four different Ramblers scored in the match, including Michael Fergson and Mark Halma who also added an assist apiece to give them a team-leading three points. Last season, Loyola Chicago advanced to the NCAA Tournament and was eliminated in the first round by Northwestern on penalty kicks. Eight of Loyola's top nine scorers from a year ago return. Head coach Brendan Eitz is 41-28-13 in five years at Loyola Chicago, 107-147-25 in 15 years overall. Series History: Saint Louis leads the all-time series 5-1-0, though Loyola Chicago won the teams' last meeting 2-1 in 1996. All six games in the series have occurred in St. Louis. Immediate Impact: After the first week of play, sophomore newcomer Mike Roach was tied for the Atlantic 10 Conference lead with four points (two goals). He was also tied for the league lead with 11 shots. New Look Billikens: Saint Louis has fielded 11 players who did not see playing time in a Billiken uniform last season. Included in that group are six players who have drawn starts for the Billikens so far this season. Freshmen Alex Sweetin and Nick Maglasang have started all three matches for the Billikens so far this season, while fellow freshman Jacob Brown started the first two matches of the year before suffering an injury against Washington. Billikens in the MLS: Saint Louis will be playing on the home pitch of a pair of former Billikens, Brian McBride and Tim Ward, who are members of the Chicago Fire. McBride and Ward are two of seven former Billikens who are active in MLS. The others are Brandon Barklage (DC United), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), John DiRaimondo (DC United), Jack Jewsbury (Kansas City Wizards) and Kyle Patterson (LA Galaxy). Transfer Time: Mike Roach, who spent two seasons with the Indiana men's soccer program, has returned to his native St. Louis and leads the Bills with two goals. 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 has started all three matches. Drawing Praise: Saint Louis' newcomer class was ranked 10th by Soccer America and 16th by CollegeSoccerNews.com. The Bills also placed a league-high four players on the Atlantic 10 Conference 2009 preseason All-Rookie team: Benny Estes, Nick Maglasang, Mark Pais and Alex Sweetin. Maglasang and Sweetin were tabbed as two of "100 Freshmen to Watch in 2009" by CollegeSoccerNews.com. Dan's Day: Ninth-year head coach Dan Donigan boasts a 104-37-23 career record. His season-opening .711 win percentage made 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 36-13-11 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 are benefiting 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 continues its five-match road swing Friday, Sept. 18, when it travels to Akron, Ohio, for the University of Akron Tournament that will pit the Bills against Florida International (Friday) and No. 1 Akron (Sunday). Saint Louis' next home game is not until Saturday, Sept. 26, when No. 21 Tulsa comes to town for Homecoming. |
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