Nov. 17, 2008

NCAA Tournament Bracket

ST. LOUIS - Saint Louis received an at-large bid to the NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament and will face Drake Friday at Robert R. Hermann Stadium. First kick is slated for 7 p.m.

The Billikens are making their third straight and record 45th overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament after posting an 11-4-5 record. SLU, which has been ranked in the top 30 all season in all major soccer polls, is led in scoring by All-America candidate Kyle Patterson (12G, 5A). Fellow senior Brandon Barklage is second in scoring with 24 points (7G, 10A).

"Our guys are fired up and ready to go," SLU head coach Dan Donigan said. "I am proud of my team, but we know we have a very difficult match against Drake, which has had a great year. At this point, though, we are focused on our own preparation and making sure we are ready to go. We know we can go out and make a statement with this game against Drake."

Drake enters Friday night's matchup with a 13-4-1 overall record. It was eliminated from the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament by Missouri State on penalty kicks in the semifinals. The Bulldogs average just over 2.0 goals per game and are led in that category by Garrett Webb, who has scored eight times. Keeper Michael Drozd anchors a defense that yields 1.04 goals per game.

The winner of the Drake/Saint Louis matchup travels to Bloomington, Ind., Tuesday, Nov. 25, to face No. 6-seed Indiana (12-6-3) in second-round action.

Ticket information will be posted Tuesday on www.slubillikens.com.