Leaderboard

The clock stops because NCAA deals with schools that may not be able to afford a 4th official to track stoppage time. So they stop the clock at all levels.

It’s probably someone else’s fault...

LETS GOOOOOOOOO BILLLLLLSSSSS

I asked them to donate last years ticket money to the team. Also told them I would be moving to better seats this coming year.

Yarbrough came into college as a point forward. Despite being a knucklehead, he eventually became an all-conference player in the Valley doing just that. Strickland is an elite athlete in search of a position.

Yes and no. What has changed, is that now there are some players that are considering SLU, that would not have considered SLU a few to several years ago. (Relationship building and winning have been the biggest difference) Shields and Chris Allen have been a big part of this. Bry McCarthy is helping with other areas as well. After that, it gets more complex. Let’s take a deep dive. Some years have better local recruits than others with regard to both high end, and depth. Some years, the better local recruits come from different programs than other years. Some years it’s a mix. SLU was able to get many of/more of their target recruits, in recent years, in the current Freshman and Sophomore classes. And, another aspect of recruiting includes sometimes recruiting the best or better players, and then moving them around and changing their position in college to fit the player, the team, etc...Heckel and Stram for example start on the back line as Freshmen, But they were better known as successful offensive players prior to SLU. Hannah Friedrich, over the years, has moved around from up top, out wide, and inside depending on the need. She was one of the nation’s leaders in assists this year, after being a prolific goal scorer other years. Versatility has been a key to SLU’s recruiting. SLU likes players who are and have been successful in other sports too. SLU could have a pretty good pick up hoops game with some. Transfers. Emily Groark, (Colorado) Anna Lawler, (Oklahoma St.) Hadley Cytron, (Tennessee) all were elite local area recruits that chose Power 5 schools, but later transferred to SLU. Being able to be in position as a possible landing spot in these situations has helped too. Local recruiting includes all of Metro St. Louis, the Metro East, all of Missouri, and Metro KC. SLU has four players from the Metro East. They have one from Springfield, MO, They have one from Columbia, two from KC. They have 13 others from all over the St. Louis area. Then you add other regional and national recruits. That doesn’t mean every local player has or will consider SLU. Some do and some don’t. And that’s okay. But more are considering SLU than before. SLU just needs to be competitive annually with recruiting to be an annual top 25 or better program. The players can come from anywhere. But it makes sense to build a strong foundation locally first. Ralph Richards runs the ECNL program at SLSG. Many current SLU players came through that program. Caleb McKee (SLU Men’s Soccer alum) is coaching a Lou Fusz team that is going for its 2nd straight USYS National Title this summer. Two SLU commits are on the team. Emily Gaebe is from Union, and recently transferred to the team. And Madelyn Smith is from Florissant but goes to Alton Marquette. Some players overplay their recruiting level. Some under perform, some perform at or around their expected level. It’s more about who can play and develop at the highest levels, be a good fit, and, consider/commit to SLU. There are plenty of players that go elsewhere for a variety of reasons. Some want to go away for the experience and change. Some seek a different type of school than SLU. Some seek a better soccer league. SLU seeks a good fit for both sides based on the type of play development, culture, etc...There is definitely a specific culture with SLU’s program. Some really good players go elsewhere and succeed. Kirsten Davis and Channing Foster have had great careers at Texas Tech and Ole Miss, and, were recent NWSL draft picks. There are some pretty good players with local ties throughout the NCAA Tourney and elsewhere, playing Power 5, Big East, OVC, all kinds of leagues. Ava Tankersley has had a really good Freshman season at top 10 Arkansas. Delaney Schultz at Rice, Gretchen Skoglund at Butler. Lily Farkas at Michigan. You can even find some players that play at perhaps a smaller level than SLU than are very successful and very much could play at SLU. There are misses in recruiting too. Sydney Stephens (Georgia) was very highly recuited, and is an example of just how challenging the transition to big time college soccer can be at times. At many Power 5 schools, it is common for some highly recruited first year players to ease into the lineup over time. This is a bit of a shock, and, is different from being a prep star. Some stick it out, some make a change. And some such as Davis and Foster, are good from the beginning. A few of the very highest recruited local players for 2021 and 2022 classes are headed to Power 5 schools: Wisconsin (Ashley Martinez, Rylee Howard) North Carolina (Maci Teater), Mississippi St (Rylie Combs, Alivia Buxton), South Carolina (Kinley Brown), Oklahoma St (Grace Bindbeutel), Arkansas (Annessa Shively). Some of these had U.S. National program exposure. SLU would have liked to have had any of these for next year and the year after. Many Power 5 schools recruit from National Events in the ECNL (Elite Club National League) the past decade or so. (SLU has some of these players) This is where some of the above mentioned local players headed to Power 5 schools play with their club teams. This is also where SLU is more likely to recruit more of its National players from these events. i.e. Taylor Krueger from Portland Jesuit plays in it. But, good players come from anywhere and everywhere. Some of SLU’s good players are proof of that too. A few other good ones are headed to Xavier, Marquette, Rutgers, Vandy, Clemson. Even SIUE and Missouri St. are doing a nice job with recruiting local players and are having success. SLU has a very young, very good team, most of which will return next season. They will also add a few players that had to sit out this season. And, they have a few good recruits for next year mentioned above (Gaebe, Smith) along with a keeper from KC, Lily-Anne Ellis. And, SLU already has a couple of really good ones in the 2022 class, one from St. Louis, (Ellie Paloucek), one from Portland (Taylor Krueger), (Hannah Smith) as well from Stl. There are also some other local younger prep players getting U.S. National program exposure at the younger high school age range levels 15’s and 16’s. (Autumn Jackson, Zoe Cuneio etc...) As Shields would say, the local area is very good for recruiting relative to its Metro area size. It isn’t SoCal, Metro NYC tristate, DC/MD/VA, Texas, Atl, etc...the goal is to be competitive landing a few to some of the biggest talents, knowing many will go elsewhere, while also stockpiling very good players that develop well. SLU has been able to consistently year in and year out recruit good players, who can develop well in SLU’s system.