 Final Regular-Season Home Weekend on Tap for Billikens
Oct. 29, 2008
This Week: The 16th-ranked Billikens close out their regular-season home schedule this weekend when St. Bonaventure and Duquesne visit Robert R. Hermann Stadium for a pair of Atlantic 10 Conference matches. Action gets underway Friday at 7 p.m. against SBU, while SLU battles the Dukes Sunday at 1 p.m. Prior to Sunday's game, SLU will honor its six senior student-athletes as a part of Senior Day ceremonies. Billiken All-Access: All Billiken regular-season home games this season 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 to the games, fans can view player interviews, highlights and much more at no charge. GameTracker is again available free of charge in 2008. 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. About the Billikens: Saint Louis (7-2-5, 3-2-0 A-10) is tied for fourth in the league standings. Hermann Trophy candidate Kyle Patterson leads the team with 21 points (9G, 3A). Brandon Barklage follows with 14 points, which includes a team-leading six assists. James Jaramillo has eight points (3G, 2A), while Jonas Reiter, Scott Wisniewski and Kyle Hayes each have four points. The Bills are strong on the defensive end and boast a formidable back line in Alex Johnston, Calum Angus, Rob Viviano and Tim Ream. Keeper Pat Disbennett has a 0.67 GAA and six shutouts.
Last Time Out: Saint Louis picked up a key A-10 victory at No. 23 Charlotte last Saturday. Jimmy Holmes started the scoring in the 23rd minute when he tallied his first goal of the season off a pass from Kyle Patterson. Charlotte then scored two goals to open up a 2-1 lead, but SLU rallied right before half and benefitted from an own goal. While he does not get credit for the goal, it was Patterson's work in the box that generated the chance. In the 58th minute, Brandon Barklage buried a 30-yarder for the game winner. With the win, SLU posted its first victory against a ranked opponent. Getting Defensive: SLU leads the Atlantic 10 and is 13th nationally in goals against average (0.66). In addition, the Billikens lead the league in fewest goals allowed (10) and shutouts (7). Saint Louis has yielded just 149 shots on the season, only 61 of which have found the goal for a .409 opponent shot percentage. Last weekend, the Billikens held the league's top-rated offense to just four shots on goal. The Billikens have not allowed more than two goals in a game since Oct. 6, 2007, a 3-3 tie against Buffalo. On The Offensive: Eight different Billikens have found the back of the net this season, including Jimmy Holmes who tallied his first goal of the season last Saturday at Charlotte. Kyle Patterson (9G), Brandon Barklage (4G), James Jaramillo (3G) and Jonas Reiter (2G) have scored multiple times. In all, 13 Billikens have picked up at least one point this season. SLU has out-shot its opponents 178-149 and has nearly doubled its opponents' corner kick total, holding a 96-48 advantage. Scouting St. Bonaventure: The Bonnies enter the weekend in an eighth-place tie in the league standings with a 4-4-4 overall record and a 2-2-1 mark in A-10 play. Their two league wins came in their last two games against Rhode Island and Duquesne. Samuel Maheu leads the team with nine points (3G, 3A), followed by Fabrizio Savarino's five points (2G, 1A). David Flynn, the reigning A-10 co-Player of the Week, has a 1.02 GAA and four shutouts. Head coach Mel Mahler is in his fourth season at St. Bona and has a 17-34-12 record. Series History: The Bonnies and Billikens have met on two occasions, with SLU coming away with a pair of victories. The first meeting came at Hermann Stadium in 2006, a 4-2 Billiken triumph. Last season in Olean, N.Y., Kyle Patterson scored an unassisted goal in the second half to deliver a 1-0 SLU victory. Scouting Duquesne: The Dukes, who play at Charlotte Friday before traveling to St. Louis, enter the week 12th in the A-10 with a 5-6-4 overall mark and a 1-3-1 record in league play. Duquesne, which is hosting this year's A-10 Championship in Pittsburgh, topped Saint Joseph's earlier this season for its lone league win. Ben Horner leads the team with 14 points (6G, 2A) and is followed closely by Stefan Lundberg's 12 points (4G, 4A). Keeper Chris Torres has a 1.13 GAA and five shutouts. Head coach Jake Ouimet is 21-24-9 in three years at Duquesne.
Series History: SLU leads the all-time series 4-0, but the last three matchups have been mere 1-0 winners for SLU. Last season in Pittsburgh, Scott Wisniewski scored the game winner in the second half. In 2006, the two squads met in the A-10 semifinals where SLU prevailed 1-0 on a goal by Kyle Hayes. Polling Place: The Billikens have appeared in every major collegiate men's soccer poll every week this season. They rank 12th in the CollegeSoccerNews.com poll, and Soccer Times ranks the Bills 17th overall. Soccer America tabs the Billikens 19th in the country. SLU is ranked 16th by the NSCAA, which also tabs the Bills second in the Middle-Atlantic region behind Dayton. A-10 Race: With two weeks remaining in regular-season A-10 play, Saint Louis is tied for fourth in the league standings with nine points. Dayton leads the pack with 16 points, while Temple and UMass each have 10 points. Tied with SLU in fourth is Fordham, while Rhode Island and George Washington occupy the next two spots. The top six teams in the league standings advance to the A-10 Championship, which will be held at Rooney Field at Duquesne University (Pittsburgh, Pa.) Nov. 13-16.
Patterson Named A-10 co-Player of the Week: Senior Kyle Patterson earned A-10 co-Player of the Week honors after netting a natural hat trick in the final 10 minutes of play to deliver a 3-0 victory over Xavier Oct. 17 at Hermann Stadium. It was Patterson's second career natural hat. Last season against Saint Joseph's, he notched three straight goals in a span of 2 minutes, 31 seconds, the second-fastest natural hat trick in NCAA history. Ream Named A-10 Player of the Week: Junior Tim Ream drew the first weekly honors of his career when he was tabbed A-10 Player of the Week and a member of TopDrawerSoccer.com's Men's College Team of the Week for the period ending Oct. 5. The defender has been instrumental in SLU's defensive prowess while playing every minute in the back. He recently moved to his traditional left-back position and has created numerous scoring chances with runs up the flank. Jaramillo Earns National Recognition: James Jaramillo earned a spot on CollegeSoccerNews.com's National Team of the Week after netting the game-winner against Denver. In addition to his scoring capabilities, Jaramillo has been strong all season defensively as a cog in the central midfield.
Reiter Claims First Weekly Award: Saint Louis freshman Jonas Reiter earned co-Rookie of the Week honors from the Atlantic 10 Conference for his play up top in SLU's two wins at the Diadora Challenge. He notched the first goals of his career in the Portland match when he netted back-to-back tallies in less than two minutes late in the match. Disbennett a Lowe's Senior CLASS Nominee: Keeper Pat Disbennett was one of 30 players selected as a candidate for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for men's soccer. The award, given annually to senior student-athletes across nine NCAA Division I sports, is based on dedication and achievement in four areas: Classroom, Character, Community and Competition.
Hermann Trophy Candidates: Saint Louis has three players on the 2008 Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Watch List. Senior midfielder Eric Sweetin 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, Calum Angus and Kyle Patterson 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 was also named preseason All-Conference by Atlantic 10 coaches, as was senior forward Dado Hamzagic. In addition, freshmen Jonas Reiter and Keegan Smith 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." Dan's Day: SLU head coach Dan Donigan, the 2007 NSCAA Middle-Atlantic Region Coach of the Year and reigning back-to-back A-10 Coach of the Year, is 98-32-23 in eight seasons at the helm. He ranks in the top five in winning percentage among active Division I head coaches with at least five years of experience. 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 32-9-11 overall mark and an 19-3-1 ledger in A-10 regular-season games.
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 73-16-13 in eight seasons at Hermann Stadium, including 3-1-3 mark this season. In those eight seasons, the Billikens are 6-2-2 on their home pitch in NCAA Tournament action. Great Fans: The Billikens attracted an average of 2,116 fans for 10 home dates at Hermann Stadium last season, which ranked ninth in the nation. The Billikens led the nation in average attendance in 2003, 2001 and 1999 and have ranked in the top 10 since 1999. The Homecoming match against Missouri State on Sept. 27 drew 5,785, the second-largest crowd in Hermann Stadium history. 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 in charge of goalkeepers. In addition, U.S. National Team assistant coach Mike Sorber will again serve as a volunteer assistant coach. |
|
