 Billikens Post Double-Digit Victory Total
Nov. 10, 2008
CLOSING THE CURTAIN: Saint Louis women's soccer concluded its season with a 2-0 loss to eventual champion Charlotte in the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship semifinals last Friday. The Billikens finished 11-6-4, marking the seventh consecutive season and 11th time in the 13-year history of the program they have registered a double-digit victory total. OLSON EARNS A-10 CHAMPIONSHIP HONOR: Senior back Lauren Olson (Plano, Texas/Ursuline) was named to the 11-player A-10 Championship All-Tournament team, adding to the list of honors she has collected during the 2008 campaign. Last week, Olson was named to the A-10 All-Conference first team and the Academic All-Conference team. She also garnered a place on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 7 first team, selected by district members of the College Sports Information Directors of America. Earlier this season, Olson was chosen to the Toys For Tots All-Tournament team. PLENTIFUL PLAUDITS: In addition to Olson's assortment of accolades, several other Billikens were recognized for their contributions this season. Junior Julia Bradenberg (St. Louis/Ursuline) was tabbed second-team All-Conference and was selected to the BAE Systems Fall Classic All-Tournament squad. Freshman Hannah Perry (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) earned a spot on the A-10 All-Rookie team, picked up two A-10 Rookie of the Week nods (Sept. 8, Oct. 20) and was named to the Toys For Tots All-Tournament team. Junior Kelly Waeckerle (St. Louis/Parkway West) joined Olson on the Academic All-Conference team, giving SLU two honorees for a fourth straight year, and added TopDrawerSoccer.com Women's College Team of the Week laurels (Oct. 20). Freshman Andrea Barklage (Lake St. Louis/Incarnate Word) was voted to the BAE Systems Fall Classic and the Toys For Tots All-Tournament teams. Senior Molly Hartmann (Jackson, Mo./Jackson) was named Most Valuable Player of the BAE Systems Fall Classic, while junior Ashley Hayes (St. Louis/Incarnate Word) made the Toys For Tots All-Tournament team.
BRADENBERG TOPS SCORING LIST: Julia Bradenberg led the Billiken scoring attack with six goals and 14 points. Kelly Waeckerle followed with four goals and 10 points, while Lauren Olson (three goals) was third. Junior Kristen Sapienza (St. Louis/St. Joseph's) had a team-high three assists. STONEWALL DEFENSE: Saint Louis posted 10 shutouts this season, tying for the third most in program history. All six of the Bills' Atlantic 10 regular-season victories were shutouts. ASCENDING THE CAREER CHARTS: Julia Bradenberg finished the season in the top 10 on four Saint Louis career statistical lists. Bradenberg is tied for fourth in game-winning goals (nine), seventh in shots (132), tied for eighth in goals (19) and ninth in points (51). Kelly Waeckerle is eighth on the Bills' career game-winning goals chart with seven. Lauren Olson cracked the top-10 lists in games started (80, tied for fourth) and games played (81, tied for sixth). On the career goalkeeping charts, Hannah Perry is already tied for third in shutouts (10), fifth in minutes (1,970), tied for fifth in saves (72) and sixth in wins (11). A MEMORABLE DEBUT: Hannah Perry reached SLU's top 10 in five season categories. Perry placed second in minutes (1,970), tied for third in shutouts (10), tied for fifth in goals against average (0.78), tied for sixth in wins (11) and was seventh in saves (72). On the Saint Louis freshman lists, she set a Billiken standard for minutes and tied for first in shutouts. Perry also finished second in saves and third in wins and GAA among SLU freshmen. Her 10 saves against Nebraska on Sept. 5 tied the Robert R. Hermann Stadium record for saves by a SLU goalkeeper. CLASS ACTS: Julia Bradenberg's three game-winning goals this season tied her for second all time among Saint Louis juniors. Bradenberg also was third in shots (54) and tied for fourth in goals (six) on the Billiken junior-class charts. Kelly Waeckerle and Ashley Hayes tied for fourth among juniors with two game-winning goals apiece, while Lauren Olson tied for fifth all time among Billiken seniors with a pair of game-winners. BILLS IN THE A-10 STATISTICAL RANKINGS: SLU led the Atlantic 10 in goals against average (0.78) in 2008, allowing only 17 goals in 21 games, and finished second in shutouts (10). Hannah Perry led the league in GAA (0.78) and shutouts (10) and ranked fourth in save percentage (.809). Julia Bradenberg finished fourth in shots per game (3.18), tied for fifth in game-winning goals (three) and 10th in goals per game (0.35). BILLS WIN ONE, LOSE ONE IN A-10 CHAMPIONSHIP: The Atlantic 10 Conference Championship began well for Saint Louis as the Billikens posted a 2-1 first-round win over St. Bonaventure last Thursday. Sophomore Christine Steinmetz (Palatine, Ill./St. Viator), assisted by Andrea Barklage, scored her first career goal at the 5:42 mark to give SLU a 1-0 lead. Julia Bradenberg, who launched a career-high eight shots, scored the game-winning tally at 70:57 with an assist from Megan Yossi. Hannah Perry made four saves for the Bills, who out-shot the Bonnies 21-8. The Billikens then dropped a 2-0 decision to eventual champion Charlotte the following day. ALL TIED UP: The Billikens' four ties in 2008 established a program record, breaking the mark of three set by the 1997 team and tied by the 1999, 2000 and 2003 squads. HEAD COACH Tim Champion: The only head coach in Saint Louis women's soccer history, Tim Champion has completed his 13th season in charge of the Billikens and his 16th season overall as a collegiate head coach. He concluded the 2008 campaign with a 159-79-26 record (.652) at the SLU helm and a career mark of 219-93-29 (.685). Champion has led his teams to three regular-season conference 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 this season were 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 are 74-20-6 (.770) at home, including 42-7-3 (.837) in league play. |
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