MEET THE TEAM | SCHEDULE/RESULTS | NEWS | ALMANAC

Oct. 9, 2007

On Tap: After a tough non-conference schedule that yielded just one loss, No. 18 (NSCAA) Saint Louis opens its third season in the Atlantic 10 Conference with two road matches this weekend. SLU (4-1-3) travels to St. Bonaventure for a 3 p.m. (CT) matchup on Friday before facing Duquesne in Pittsburgh at 11 a.m. (CT) on Sunday.

Recapping Last Week: Last Saturday, the Billikens battled to a 3-3 draw with Buffalo at Robert R. Hermann Stadium as the Bulls scored twice in a frantic final 10 minutes. Sophomore midfielder Kyle Hayes put the Billikens up 1-0 in the third minute, and Kyle Patterson scored twice on back-to-back possessions in the second half. However, Buffalo pulled to within 3-2 with a goal in the 84th minute, and scored the equalizer with 8.2 seconds remaining to deny the Billikens their fifth-straight win.

Scouting St. Bonaventure: The Bonnies enter Friday's match 3-3-1 and have been idle since a 2-1 victory over Niagara on Sept. 28. Their three victories have already matched last season's win total when SBU finished 3-12-2. Nikola Vasilez leads the team with 6 points (3G), while Samuel Maheu, Stephen Bortolon and Tyler Bellamy all follow with a goal and assist each. David Flynn has seen every minute in goal and has made 32 saves and posted a 1.07 GAA. Head coach Mel Maher is in his third year at SBU with a 10-26-6 record.

The Series: The Billikens are 1-0-0 against SBU after picking up a 4-2 victory last season at Hermann Stadium.

Scouting Duquesne: The Dukes, who play Charlotte before hosting the Billikens, enter the week 2-4-3 overall. Like SBU, the Dukes were also idle last week. Duquesne has picked up victories against Binghamton and Cleveland State. Other notable results include a 1-0 loss against then-No. 20 West Virginia and a 1-0 defeat against Buffalo. Travis MacKenzie, a Hermann Trophy candidate in the midfield, leads the squad with seven points (2G, 3A). Alex Trujillo is next with six points (2G, 2A). Patrick Finnegan and Chris Torres have split time in the nets, though Finnegan has been credited with both of the Dukes' wins on the year. Head coach Jake Ouiomet is in his second season with a 13-11-2 record.

The Series: The Billikens are 3-0-0 all-time against the Dukes after picking up a pair of wins last season. They topped Duquesne 1-0 at home during the regular season, and won by the same score in the semifinals of the A-10 Championship. In Pittsburgh in 2005, the Billikens knocked off the Dukes 3-2 in overtime on Calum Angus' game winner.

Streaking: The Billikens have orchestrated a five-game unbeaten streak in non-conference action, something that has not been accomplished since the 2003 campaign. SLU, which historically plays one of the toughest non-conference slates in the nation, had picked up consecutive wins against Loyola Marymount, Indiana, Bradley and Central Florida before tying Buffalo last Saturday.

National Recognition: Three different Billikens have appeared on National Teams of the Week this season. Dado Hamzagic appeared on CollegeSoccerNews.com's Team of the Week for the period ending Sept. 30 for his dominating play against Central Florida. Josh Aranda, who was named co-MVP of the Saint Louis/Nike Soccer Classic, earned a spot on TopDrawerSoccer.com's National Team of the Week (Sept. 16) after his strong play in the middle helped SLU to two victories in the tourney. Kyle Patterson was named to CollegeSoccerNews.com's National Team of the Week the same day after netting the game winner against then-No. 2 Indiana. In addition, he earned Atlantic 10 Men's Soccer Player of the Week honors.

Hermann Trophy Candidate: Saint Louis junior midfielder Eric Sweetin is among 29 players on the 2007 Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Watch List. The Hermann Trophy is the official National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Player of the Year Award for NCAA Division I competition.

In the Polls: Saint Louis is 18th in the latest NSCAA coaches poll and remains first in the Middle Atlantic region. Soccer Times has the Billikens 14th, while Soccer America ranks SLU 15th. CollegeSoccerNews.com and TopDrawerSoccer.com have the Bills eighth and 12th overall, respectively.

Robert R. Hermann Stadium: The Billikens are usually tough to beat on Robert R. Hermann Stadium's state-of-the-art natural grass surface. SLU is 67-14-10 (.791) in eight seasons at Hermann Stadium, including a 3-0-1 mark this season. Dating back to last season, SLU has a 10-game unbeaten streak in regular-season games played on its home field.

Great Fans: Saint Louis drew 5,758 fans for Homecoming against Central Florida, the second-largest crowd in Robert R. Hermann Stadium history. That draw is also the sixth-highest attended collegiate soccer match in the country this season according to a list compiled by Soccer America. In addition, SLU's match at Hermann Stadium against Indiana that 3,864 fans witnessed ranks 15th in the country. SLU ranked seventh nationally in average attendance in 2006 by attracting 2,470 fans for 10 regular-season dates. The Billikens led the nation in average attendance in 2003, 2001 and 1999. Since 1999, the Billikens have not ranked lower than seventh in attendance.

NCAA History: The Billikens have qualified for the NCAA Tournament a record 43 times in the 48-year history of the event and have won a record 10 national championships. Saint Louis has a 65-32-4 (.663) record in NCAA Tournament action.

The Atlantic 10 Conference: Saint Louis enters its third season as a member of the A-10. The Billikens have claimed at least a share of the regular-season crown in each of their first two seasons in the league, but Rhode Island has knocked off the Bills in both tournament championship games. The league features two Hermann Trophy candidates: Saint Louis' Eric Sweetin and Duquesne's Travis MacKenzie.

Offensively Speaking: The Billikens have scored three goals in each of the last two games ... have out-scored their opponents 11-4 during their current five-game unbeaten streak.

Senior Brandon Gasparovic has played in six games so far this season.

Getting Defensive: Tied for first in the A-10 with eight goals allowed ...tied for second in the league with three shutouts ... has limited opponents to a 0.91 shooting percentage.

Dan's Day: Dan Donigan, the 2006 A-10 Coach of the Year, is in his seventh year as head coach with a career record of 83-29-16 (.711). He was the 2003 NSCAA Midwest Region Coach of the Year. Donigan finished 18-2-0 in his debut, which was the best record posted by a Billikens' first-year head coach and was Conference USA's 2001 Coach of the Year. His 10-0-0 start was the best by a first-year coach in the Billikens' storied history. Donigan has led the Billikens to the NCAA Tournament in four of his six seasons and has a 5-4 record in tournament play. The former University of Connecticut All-American and Big East Player of the Decade for the 1980s took charge in 2001 after serving as an assistant coach for the previous four seasons.

On the Sidelines: The Billikens boast a full complement of assistant coaches. Matt Tutton is in his first year as an assistant, while Dave Beck returns for his second season with the Billikens. Martin Hutton was added as a graduate assistant coach in charge of goalkeepers. In addition, U.S. National Team assistant coach Mike Sorber is serving as a volunteer assistant coach.

The Bee Gees: Senior midfielder Brandon Gasparovic (St. Louis, Mo. / CBC) has been solid in the midfield as a replacement for the injured Brian Grazier.

Grazin': Senior midfielder Brian Grazier (Edwardsville, Ill. / Edison Academic Center, Bradenton, Fla.) has missed the last three games after suffering an injury against Indiana.

Weekly Reeder: Senior forward Andrew Reeder (Burlington, N.J. / Pennington School) has seen playing time in all eight matches this season ...turned in 36 minutes off the bench against Buffalo and served a ball into the box that almost led to the game winner in overtime.

Certified Angus: Junior defender Calum Angus (Portsmouth, England) has been a mainstay in the back all season ... played all but two minutes of the 110-minute double overtime affair against Buffalo.

Brand New: Junior midfielder Brandon Barklage (St. Louis, Mo. / New Mexico) is third on the team with four points (1G, 2A) and second with 19 shots ...ripped three shots against Buffalo, including a header late in the match that skirted just wide.

It's Magic: Junior forward Dado Hamzagic (St. Louis, Mo. / Mehlville) missed the Buffalo match due to an illness ... has registered at least one point in three straight matches ... has fired a team-high 22 shots.

From Across the Pond: Junior midfielder Kyle Patterson (Birmingham, England) earned A-10 Co-Player of the Week honors after notching a career-high five points (2G, 1A) against Buffalo ... leads the team in scoring with 10 points (4G, 2A), which ranks seventh in the A-10.

That's Sweet: Junior midfielder Eric Sweetin (Overland Park, Kan. / Kansas City Rockhurst) came off the bench for 51 minutes against Buffalo after missing the previous four matches due to injury.

Sophomore midfielder Josh Aranda has been a staple in the middle for the Billikens.

Just Joshin': Sophomore midfielder Josh Aranda (St. Louis, Mo. / DeSmet) continues to be a stabilizing force in the central midfield for the Billikens ... has started every game and has played every minute thus far.

Purple Hayes: Sophomore midfielder Kyle Hayes (St. Louis, Mo. / CBC) tallied his first goal of the season, the fifth of his career, in the Buffalo match ...has played in every match this season.

Red Ross: Sophomore goalkeeper Ross Kaufman (Louisville, Ky. / Dupont Manual) has a 4-1-2 record with a 0.87 goals against average ... made six saves in the Buffalo match to preserve a tie.

Reamed Out: Sophomore defender Tim Ream (St. Louis, Mo. / St. Dominic) played all 110 minutes against Buffalo and registered a shot on goal.

That There is an RV: Sophomore defender Rob Viviano (Orange, Calif. / Orange Lutheran) was in the starting lineup after leaving last week's match early due to injury ... has been an anchor of the Billiken defense this season.

Whiz Kid: Sophomore midfielder Scott Wisniewski (Dallas, Texas / Edward S. Marcus) came off the bench for 35 minutes against Buffalo ... got off three shots in the match.

B.B. King: Freshman midfielder Beau Bellomy (Dallas, Texas / Jesuit) recorded a shot in 27 minutes off the bench against Buffalo.

The Mick: Freshman forward Josh Boemecke (O'Fallon, Ill. / O'Fallon Township) made his second career appearance against Buffalo.

Case Study: Freshman defender Casey Herd (Arlington, Texas / Martin) played all 110 minutes against Buffalo ... named a CollegeSoccerNews.com top 100 freshman to watch.

Saint Louis Billikens Men's Soccer

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