(Courtesy Saint Louis Athletics)
What’s on Tap: No. 3 Saint Louis takes its five-match winning streak to Bloomington, Ind., Wednesday for a midweek battle against 12th-ranked Indiana. Game time from Jerry Yeagley Field at Bill Armstrong Stadium is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. (CT).
Following the Action: The game will be streamed, for a fee, through BTN Plus. For more information, please click here. Also, be sure to follow Billiken soccer’s official Twitter page at@SLUMensSoccer for game updates.
About the Billikens: Saint Louis enters the match 7-1. The Billikens have won five in a row, including a 2-0 victory against Central Arkansas in their last outing. Robert Kristo has scored the last four Billiken goals and leads the team with six total. David Graydon is second on the team with six points (1G, 4A), while Marco Heskamp has a team-high-tying four assists. In all, eight Billikens have scored a goal, and 10 Billikens have registered at least one point. Sascha Otte has played every minute in goal and has 28 saves, a 0.75 goals against average and five shutouts. Saint Louis has not allowed a goal in 327 minutes, 19 seconds, a span of three-plus games.
Polling Place: The Billikens appear in every major collegiate soccer poll. SLU checks in at No. 3 in the Soccer America poll and is No. 8 in the NSCAA rankings. The Billikens are ninth and 15th in the CollegeSoccerNews.com and TopDrawerSoccer.com polls, respectively. In the first NCAA RPI report, which was released Monday, the Billikens were No. 6.
About the Hoosiers: Indiana, No. 12 (Soccer America) and No. 16 (NSCAA) in this week’s polls, enters Wednesday’s match with a 5-1-3 record. The Hoosiers are coming off a 1-1 draw against Big Ten foe Northwestern in Bloomington. IU is led offensively by Tanner Thompson, who has two goals and two assists for a team-best six points. Femi Hollinger-Janzen and Patrick Doody have two goals and an assist for five points apiece. Colin Webb has played every minute between the posts and sports a 0.63 goals against average to go along with four shutouts. Head coach Todd Yeagley, who led the Hoosiers to the NCAA championship in 2012, is in his fifth year at IU with a 52-30-15 record. Yeagley’s six-year career record is 59-39-17.
Series History: The Billikens and Hoosiers, who are No. 1 (10) and No. 2 (eight) in NCAA men’s soccer titles, respectively, have met 42 times. While the two teams have played competitively since 1959, Indiana did not become associated with the NCAA until 1973. Since then, IU holds a 20-9-4 series advantage.
Hermann Trophy Watch List: Saint Louis senior forward Robert Kristo and senior defenderAnthony Manning have been named to the Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Watch List for the second straight season. Kristo was a semifinalist for the award in 2012. Last year, Kristo led the Billikens in scoring with 25 points (10G, 5A). Manning was tabbed the Atlantic 10 Conference Defender of the Year.
Weekly Recognition: Senior Robert Kristo and freshman Sascha Otte were named the Atlantic 10 Conference Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively, Sept. 22. Kristo scored the golden goal in the Billikens’ 1-0 overtime victory at No. 3 Creighton. Otte made a career-high eight saves in the shutout against the Bluejays.
Checking the Record Book: Senior Robert Kristo is 16th in school history with 79 career points (33G, 13A). He is four points away from reaching Tom Hayes in 15th. Kristo’s 79 points are the most scored by a Billiken since Jack Jewsbury recorded 101 points (38G, 25A) from 1999-2002.
Friendly Confines: The Billikens are riding a 14-match unbeaten streak at Hermann Stadium. SLU is 6-0 on its home field this season and was 7-0-1 at Hermann Stadium a year ago. A season-high 5,487 were in attendance for SLU’s Homecoming match against Central Arkansas on Sept. 27, the seventh-largest crowd in stadium history.
Bryce Has Class: Saint Louis senior Kingsley Bryce is one of 30 NCAA Division I men’s soccer players selected as a candidate for the 2014 Senior CLASS Award for collegiate soccer. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition.
Coaching Staff: Mike McGinty, the A-10 Coach of the Year the last two seasons, is in his fifth year as head coach. McGinty’s four-year career coaching record is 52-28-6. He is aided by assistant coaches Brian Grazier (first year) and Blake Schneider (second year), goalkeeper coach Tim Kelly and senior graduate manager Mark Pais.
Up Next: Saint Louis begins Atlantic 10 Conference play Sunday, Oct. 5, versus St. Bonaventure. First whistle at Hermann Stadium is scheduled for 1 p.m.
