slufan13

Olive Garden wins games

Thank you for the info. Glad to have an insider here to get us this info before anyone else

i thin-K I T-old you this before but her success is awesome but we have to take the next step

There's no doubt we'd have a superstar recruit had it not been for some big blunders by the current staff

The best way to support women's sports is to want them to win. Right now we are not winning. Time to move on unfortunately.

I mean once you get a taste of success you have to keep eating. Otherwise it's time to move on. She should be held to a high standard. A couple of strikeouts on recruits lately and now a missed NCAA and the question has to be asked

I would say yes. The goal is to make the tournament.

The question becomes, do we need to consider moving on from Shields if we don't make the NCAA's next year?

Here is what I was told today about SLU recruiting (you could also put this in the recruiting thread). As always, i ask that you keep my inside information here and not take it public SLU is adding UMass goalkeeper transfer Pepper Escher to its 2026 recruiting class. Pepper is a freshman who played club soccer for FC Stars and high school soccer at Worcester Academy. With FC Stars 06/07 ECNL, she helped the team win back-to-back New England Conference titles and reach the ECNL National Playoffs Round of 16 in 2024. The New England Conference covers Massachusetts, Connecticut, and much of New York. At Worcester Academy, she earned multiple honors: Boston Globe Prep Player of the Year NEPSAC Player of the Year All-State, All-New England, and United Soccer Coaches All-American In October 2025, she received a USYNT U20 call-up as one of three goalkeepers and 24 players selected. She trained under USYNT U20 goalkeeper coach Brittany Cameron, who also serves as an assistant at Wake Forest.

It has zero to do with SLU recruiting but this is actually a personal blog so it doesn't really matter

Summary Two weeks remain for players to enter the transfer portal, but the current cycle continues well beyond that window. There has not been an increase in “football four” programs; that aspect has not changed. The message expresses appreciation and thanks the reader (“Waterloo Marty”) for following along.

Here you guys go Posting Practices Portal entries are only shared when the player makes the entry public. Many players do not announce their entry, and players generally do not attend a school expecting to transfer. Questions about portal activity can be answered on request. Transfer Cycle Activity Incoming transfers are posted each cycle. By Thanksgiving, 961 players had entered the portal; only a small percentage entered since August. Additional entries have continued, including as recently as the day before the information was written. Two weeks remain in the current cycle, and the Men’s cycle began one week later than the Women’s. Commitment Timing Players may commit at any point after entering the portal. Two SLU players committed in December last cycle but did not announce until May. Timing varies widely, and the current cycle is still active. SLU has contacted 22 players across 7 positions so far this cycle. Tracking Former Players Information about where past players have transferred is available upon request. Example: SLU Men’s Soccer plays Akron on Saturday, which features former Billiken Jack Sullivan. SLU’s Portal Approach Both SLU Men’s and Women’s Soccer actively recruit the portal every cycle. As a result, a few players also leave each cycle. The Women’s program faces increased competition due to the rise of additional football-affiliated programs.

By far the most impressive player in our recent run has been DiMaria. 110 great minutes against Bryant after an amazing 90 vs Indiana and of course we wouldn't even be here without his brace against Kentucky.

Anyway I was at the game last night and here is my first-hand summary! Summary of SLU vs. Bryant (2–2, SLU wins 4–3 on PKs) (All details below are taken directly from the provided match notes.) Formations & Availability SLU played a 4-4-2 without a right wing, using the same lineup and formation as vs. Indiana, with O’Neil available only for limited minutes. Bryant used a 4-2-3-1. Unavailable for SLU: Pitarch Bayot. Delgado replaced him and provided physicality plus a goal; Umar added pace and playmaking. Game Plan & Tactical Themes SLU’s early focus was on taking away Jiana and Amaro, but Bryant countered by bringing in Amaro for long stretches, where he again scored a big goal (2nd straight game). Both teams had limited substitutions due to a week of preparation and match load. Early on, SLU made brief adjustments to Bryant’s sporadic high press. SLU countered this press by: Having Carlos play both right back and right wing, Keeping an extra defender on the left side of midfield. How SLU Attacked SLU created chances through: Combination play up the middle leading to set pieces, Wide buildups that isolated Theo, eventually drawing the PK, Repeated patterns similar to their goals. How Bryant Attacked Bryant scored through: Sustained set-piece pressure, A turnover in midfield followed by a rapid transition counter. Goal Breakdown (From Match Notes) SLU Goal (1–0) Blair → Schramm → DiMaria → Heckenlaible, who won a corner vs Talabi. Corner routine: Jack to Quentin. Design: Schramm set a pick on Rodríguez; Quentin left unmarked near post for a back-post header. Secondary option was Fournier back post. Bryant Goal (1–1) After SLU’s goal, Bryant forced turnovers and earned corners. On the scoring play: Multiple attackers ran near post, Delgado stayed back and outmuscled Barnett on the aerial duel. DiMaria left his mark (Rodríguez) trying to win the header. Delgado headed it to Rodríguez who finished. Service came from Fernandez. Bryant Goal (2–1) (Described as against the run of play while SLU was controlling late first half.) Fournier → DiMaria but DiMaria’s heavy touch caused a turnover. Fernandez & Veintimilla forced the mistake. Veintimilla sent a perfect through ball to Umar, splitting Blair and Cortez. Jeremi rushed out but Umar pushed the ball wide and finished into the open net. Bryant subbed Umar afterward for added pace both centrally and wide. SLU Goal (2–2) Early second-half pressure from Xavi, KP, and Theo. Fournier → Carlos → Franca, who pressed Carvalho into a misplay. Theo used his physicality to win position and draw a PK vs the 6'5” goalkeeper. Blair buried the PK in the upper-right 90. Second Half & Overtime Notes Sub rotations: KP and Xavi with Tanner and Heckenlaible, and Coughlan for Barnett for added physicality. SLU nearly won it in regulation when Franca shot over the bar, missing a wide-open Anderson to his right. In OT, Schramm again played Franca through, and his shot from 10 yards was deflected off Carvalho’s shoulder—otherwise the match was over. General Match Themes SLU varied their attack: middle combinations, wide patterns, long balls, and full-field width. Strong in 50/50s and aerial duels. Officiating was consistently good, which mattered given the game’s physicality. Penalty Shootout SLU has been excellent in PKs, with Jeremi often good for 1–2 saves. Jeremi intentionally gets yellow cards during PKs for motivation and psychological disruption. SLU used the same order as usual, except Tanner shot 4th instead of Jeremi.

Per my sources we play Akron on Saturday! Should be a fun one! Please keep this here for now.