 Saint Louis Hosts Toys For Tots Tournament
Sept. 3, 2008
THIS WEEK: Saint Louis women's soccer makes its 2008 home debut in the Toys For Tots Tournament at Robert R. Hermann Stadium this weekend. The Billikens (2-0) tangle with Nebraska (0-3) on Friday, Sept. 5, at 7:30 p.m. and host Missouri State (3-1) Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Missouri State and Army meet Friday at 5:30 p.m., and Southeast Missouri State takes on Army Sunday at 11 a.m. FOLLOWING THE ACTION: All Billiken home games this season will be video streamed live on the Internet via 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 the Tim Champion Show at no charge. GameTracker is again available free of charge in 2008. All four games in the Toys For Tots Tournament will be available on GameTracker. DISCOUNT ADMISSION WITH TOY DONATION: All fans donating a new, unwrapped toy will be admitted to the Toys For Tots Tournament for the discount price of $3.00. One toy donation will be good for admission to both games either day. TICKET INFORMATION: Tickets for all women's soccer home games at Robert R. Hermann Stadium may be purchased at the gate, by phone at (314) 977-4SLU or online at www.slubillikens.com. Prices for single-game tickets are $7 for adults and $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 BILLIKEN LODOWN: Senior back Lauren Olson will keep an online journal this season, a feature available only on www.slubillikens.com. The journal will provide a behind-the-scenes look at the women's soccer squad and will be updated weekly throughout the year. Go to the women's soccer page and look for "The Billiken LoDown" button. BILLIKENS OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT: With their victories at Army's BAE Systems Fall Classic last week, the Bills achieved a 2-0 start for the first time since 2003. The 2003 team began the season 3-0, while SLU's best start is 4-0 in 2000. The 2-1 triumph over Seton Hall snapped Saint Louis' four-game winless streak, which included a three-game losing skid, in season openers.
HARTMANN NAMED TOURNAMENT MVP: Senior midfielder/back Molly Hartmann was named Most Valuable Player of the BAE Systems Fall Classic. Hartmann scored a career-high two goals in the Billikens' 2-1 win over Seton Hall and established career highs in points (four) and shots (three). BRADENBERG, BARKLAGE EARN ALL-TOURNEY LAURELS: Junior forward Julia Bradenberg and freshman back Andrea Barklage joined Hartmann on the BAE Systems Fall Classic All-Tournament team. Bradenberg tallied a goal and an assist and tied her career high with five shots in the Billikens' 2-0 win over Army. Barklage registered her first career goal and helped limit the Black Knights to one shot on goal. SCOUTING NEBRASKA: The Cornhuskers return 11 starters and nine additional letterwinners from last year's team that finished 5-10-4 overall and 1-8-1 (tied for 10th) in the Big 12 Conference. Nebraska has suffered one-goal losses to Northwestern and UC Riverside and a 6-1 defeat at the hands of No. 22 Florida. Sophomore forward Michaella Fulmer leads the NU offensive attack with two goals and one assist. John Walker is in his 16th season as a collegiate head coach and carries a 215-80-16 record, all at Nebraska. THE NEBRASKA SERIES: Nebraska leads the series 1-0 after defeating the Billikens 5-1 in Lincoln last season. SCOUTING MISSOURI STATE: Nine starters and eight additional letterwinners return from a Missouri State team that went 6-11-2 overall and 2-2-2 in the Missouri Valley Conference (fifth place) a year ago. The Bears take on Army in the Toys For Tots Tournament opener on Friday before facing the Billikens on Sunday. Missouri State brings a three-game winning streak to Saint Louis, posting shutouts over Arkansas-Little Rock (2-0), Southeast Missouri State (1-0) and Tulsa (1-0) after dropping a 1-0 decision to Arkansas in the season opener. Junior midfielder Samantha Aguilar has netted two goals, while senior goalkeeper Jackie Jasper, a 2007 All-Conference first-team selection, owns a 0.25 goals against average. The Bears also feature senior midfielder Allison Osmundson, who joined Jasper on the All-MVC first team last season. Now in his 13th year at Missouri State and his 19th campaign in the collegiate coaching ranks, Rob Brewer is 115-104-25 with the Bears and 183-132-27 overall. THE MISSOURI STATE SERIES: The Billikens lead the series 8-1-2, including a 1-0 triumph last season in Springfield on Kelly Waeckerle's goal late in the first half. SLU owns a 4-0-1 advantage over Missouri State in St. Louis. The Bears' only victory over the Billikens was a 1-0 win three years ago in Springfield. The teams have met every year since 1996, except for 2002. RECAPPING THE ARMY GAME: The Billikens improved to 2-0 last Saturday by blanking host Army 2-0 in the BAE Systems Fall Classic. Andrea Barklage, assisted by Julia Bradenberg, scored her first career goal in the 21st minute. Bradenberg gave the Bills a 2-0 cushion in the 77th minute, and SLU held on for the victory and the tournament championship. Saint Louis' 19-11 advantage in shots included a 6-1 margin in shots on goal. RECAPPING THE SETON HALL GAME: All three goals were scored in the first half in a game the Bills captured 2-1 last Thursday. Molly Hartmann, with assists from Susan Frederickson and Allison Sole, gave SLU a 1-0 lead off a corner kick in the sixth minute. After Seton Hall pulled even in the ninth minute, Hartmann netted what proved to be the game-winner off another corner in the 37th minute. Ashley Hayes earned an assist on the play. Goalkeeper Hannah Perry made eight saves in her collegiate debut. PRESEASON HONORS: Junior forward Julia Bradenberg was named to the A-10 preseason All-Conference team, while freshman back Andrea Barklage (Lake St. Louis, Mo./Incarnate Word) earned a spot on the league's All-Rookie team. The Billikens were picked by A-10 head coaches to finish third in the conference. Defending champion Charlotte is the preseason favorite, followed by Dayton. ASCENDING THE CAREER CHARTS: Junior goalkeeper Hannah Koesterer is in third place on the SLU all-time victories list with 20. Koesterer also is third in career goals-against average (1.18), tied for third in career shutouts (10) and fourth in career saves (103) and career minutes (2,893). On the Bills' career game-winning goals chart, junior forward Julia Bradenberg is tied for seventh with six game-winners, while junior midfielder/forward Kelly Waeckerle is tied for 10th with five. SEEING DOUBLE: Saint Louis finished the 2007 campaign with a 10-6-2 record, giving the Bills a double-digit victory total for the 10th time in the 12-year history of the program. Included in that record was a 7-2-2 mark in Atlantic 10 Conference play. HEAD COACH Tim Champion: The only head coach in Saint Louis women's soccer history, Tim Champion is in his 13th season in charge of the Billikens and his 16th season overall as a collegiate head coach. He owns a 150-73-22 record (.657) at SLU helm and a career mark of 210-87-25 (.691). Champion has led his teams to three conference regular-season championships and two conference tournament titles. He became the first head coach to guide a SLU women's program to the NCAA Tournament when his 2005 Billikens made the first of two consecutive NCAA appearances. Champion's .689 win percentage and 208 victories at the beginning of the season ranked 19th and 27th, respectively, all time among coaches with at least 10 seasons as an NCAA Division I head coach. The win percentage is 21st in the nation and the victory total is 24th among active coaches with at least five years as a Division I head coach. Joining Champion on the sideline are assistant coaches Kelly Ferguson and Rob LaMear and graduate assistant Sarah Schweitzer. HERMANN STADIUM: Billiken women's soccer has been tough to beat on Robert R. Hermann Stadium's state-of-the-art natural grass. Since the facility re-opened in 1999, the Bills have posted a 69-17-3 (.792) record at home, including a 39-6-2 (.851) mark in league play. SLU was undefeated at home in the 2006 regular season, yielding just one tie to nationally ranked Marquette, before falling to Illinois in the NCAA Tournament second round. Last season yielded a 7-1 Saint Louis ledger on the home pitch. The Bills played 18 straight games without a home loss beginning Sept. 16, 2005, and running through an NCAA Tournament first-round win over Drake on Nov. 10, 2006. SLU TO HOST 2008 A-10 CHAMPIONSHIP: Robert R. Hermann Stadium will be the site of the 2008 Atlantic 10 Women's Soccer Championship. The top six teams in the final A-10 regular-season standings will gather in St. Louis to compete for the league's tournament championship and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. First-round action is scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 6, followed by the semifinals Nov. 7 and the title game Nov. 9. |
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