slufanskip

Last nights game was an absolute blast to watch.   UCA was aggressive and SLU's counter attack in the second half was exhilarating.   UCA came in with a pretty crappy record, but they clearly have some skilled players up front.     I guess this point may not matter in the long run, but SLU men's soccer attendance is one of the highest in the NCAA, but if you watch our games on ESPN+ you would think we have about 12 people in the stands and three people randomly walking around.   We need to get a damn handheld camera as part of the mix where you can see the stadium side of our venue once in a while.   

SLU in the polls this week:
Top Drawer Soccer: 14
College Soccer News: 23
 

RPI after Wed/Thurs. games:
SLU 24
BYU 5 (draw w/#7)
Brown 13 (3 more for Raphino)
Nebraska 23
Xavier 27 (draw w/#14)
Dayton 47
Utah State 74 (5 of 6 dubs)
Creighton 158 (preseason league #3  winless in league play)
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SLU 1 VCU 0
4-2-3-1 for SLU throughout. 4-3-3 for VCU. SLU doesn’t see a lot of 4-3-3’s.
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VCU is a tricky inconsistent team. They looked pretty good against Stanford and a few other high level teams, and not so in a few other games. They have not been getting results. VCU and Loyola have been the two biggest league disappointments thus far.
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SLU was fine in the first half except for judging some final 25 yard passing pace with the wind at their back. I counted 13 times, where this was an issue. That’s a lot.
Many of these were well developed possession with triangles and give and go passing but there was a bit too much pace on through balls, down the line and over the top in the final 18. Several of these would have otherwise been higher level scoring chances.
One that wasn’t was a long ball in space from Miller to Gaebe who ran on to it and one timed a left footed shot far post for an early goal. 
It’s a little bit of an issue when SLU subs out Gaebe and Larson at the same time. And this was mid way first half. 
VCU had 2 dangerous opportunities by comparison and little possession in the first half. One chance was their only set piece corner loose ball, cleared away. The other was a transition turnover give and go side of the box shot that hit the bar. There were 2 other transition plays that didn’t result in much for VCU. 
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In the 2nd, against the wind, these similar plays and passes above were kept in play offensively by SLU which resulted in more opportunities in and near the final 18. 
SLU opened the half maximizing effective offensive personnel, and SLU applied some pressure and had a Gaebe miss off of the post, and a few other chances over the bar. Miller wide off of a Houck free kick. Gaebe had a nice diagonal ball for Sawyer to run on into space and she put it off off the bar. 
But again some of the substitution patterns were less effective. And, SLU would have benefitted from moving Larson to the middle during parts of that game. 
VCU’s approach with the wind was to often launch 35 yard shots that were ineffective. SLU did well to defend the final 22 yards. Little inside the 18 in the 2nd. They had one chance off a long free kick, loose ball in the box and a save by Puricelli. And they had one failed clear that bounced back into the box and the shot was pit over the bar.
SLU’s back line was better in the 2nd half. SLU dominated possession in the first half. But 1) SLU isn’t a possession team 2)! SLU is better in more direct, wide open games. That tends to happen more in the 2nd half against tight marking teams.
Credit to VCU for playing a hard 90 minutes. They were physical and they gave little space in the first half.
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RPI after Sunday’s games:
BYU 9
Brown 18
Nebraska 24 (Dale has 17 goals)
SLU 26
Xavier 28
Dayton 48
Creighton’s RPI worsened 80 points in a few weeks with four straight league losses. Not ideal.
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SLU in the polls this week:
Top Drawer Soccer: 19
College Soccer News: 23
 
 

Not necessarily to do with this game but is there any player in the country better at delivering a dangerous free kick from 40-50+ yards out than Katie Houck? 

Not necessarily to do with this game but is there any player in the country better at delivering a dangerous free kick from 40-50+ yards out than Katie Houck? 

SLU 1 Missouri State 1
Hard fought draw. 4-3-2-1 for SLU. 4-2-3-1 for Missouri State, who credit to them, tweaked their formation multiple times during the game, and they were able to get a 5th player forward.
Peck was able to get forward on a set piece for an eventual goal. Yari gave SLU some challeges in the midfield. Denton almost had one off of a set piece in the 2nd. And Barea was good as expected. SLU waa able to get one early as Diego was able to get forward and finish a clear, on service from Redmond. And pretty rock solid back 4 for SLU, again.
3rd straight top 25 or better caliber opponent, and 3rd straight 4-3-2-1 with similar personnel and alternating keepers for SLU. 2 wins and a draw.
SLU RPI is now at 34.
 
 
 

No problem. Defaulting to bashing the Billikens without really thinking about it is a common occurrence around here.

You don't have to guess. You can always ask. 
SLU did fine for much of the game. SLU was the better team in the first half with the more dangerous scoring chances. This included scoring a nice  goal that was called back, among about 4-5 chances. VCU had some pressure in the final 15 minutes, some off which SLU was playing with 10 players. 
Another example, SLU played a 4-2-3-1 for the first time this season. The strategy was to have a pace defender in the middle of the attcking 3rd, force turnovers there, and make VCU build wide throughout the game which they did. So SLU used players such as Buendia, Mika, etc...in that spot and they let Townsend and Johnson playing holding midfield. It's still a defense first formation. SLU wasn't getting enough pressing from its 2 forwards in past games. They also inverted the wings, which was often Seth and Carlos. Mads started there but he wasn't effective there early.
Floriani moved to center back, where he played prior to SLU along with holding midfield. And Flynn moved to right back, which is where he llahed before SLU. He had a strong game there.
The 4-2-3-1 was effective for a while. It did what ut was supposed to do, especially early. 
VCU had a few good chances but many of their shots were service punched out, or 20 plus yards shots blocked by multiple defenders, or even in some cases, service wide.
Shots on goal is often a misleading stat. Some of the best scoring chances can be shots off target or not even a shot at all. VCU's 2 best chances were from distance, a step in shot from 25 yards that banged off of the far post. And another was a free kick that was almost accidentally punched into SLU's goal instead.of caught harmlessly.
SLU is still moving some pieces around. They previously had players such as Becher, Klein, Parker up front, along with outside backs that made a lot of runs. SLU doesn't have its pace forwards this season for various reasons. And they have tried to move some defenders into attacking positions with limited success. Some habe stayed. Some have moved back.
Flynn was a defender playing wing. Leatherman was a defender playing wing. Buendia and Mika are defenders. Townsend is a defender that has played wing. Dougherty is a defender who played wing.
Someone may ask well why isn't this player playing etc....I will use the Tanner Anderson example. First he did play up top at Forward vs SIUE and the following game. He has played more out on the wing. At both positions, he is still adjusting with defending and positioning. A few others are going through that too. Lots of getting pulled to the side and explaining for some of those players. And they will be fine. 
SLU is not a build from the back, knock it around a little bit East West from defensive positions type of team. They are a direct team that defends, pressures, and counters. Against SIUE for example, SIUE buried its few chances on a couple of soft near post goals. SLU clearly had several point blank chances vs Lipscomb and they also had a few missed PK's. Creating chances wasn't the issue in that game, as opposed to another game.
Right now SLU is trying to find more pace up top without sacrificing the wings. Players such as Carlos are more effective in the middle where they can defend, and, step up into the play moving forward. Playing an attacking wing is new for him. And he wasn't here in the Spring. So SLU is a little heavy on wing defenders and target forwards at the moment. 
But making adjustments and solving challenges is all part of the fun. SLU has some talented players and they have many more along the way. They are coming off of an NCAA Quarterfinal  and NCAA Round of 32 seasons. And they have plenty of time and opportunity to get more results. 

Win on the road against a tough Loyola-Chicago team, 1-0. SLU had plenty of chances, but couldn’t finish. Something to work on. Goal was by Lyndsey Heckel off a corner by Hannah Larson, so Heckel’s second goal of the season and Larson’s 6th assist of the season. Great goalkeeping by the Loyola-Chicago goalkeeper overall. SLU won shots 20-10, corners 8-2. Only bad thing to see was Sophia Stram going down with what looked like a knee injury, hopefully nothing severe. LaSalle Sunday at Hermann Stadium next. 

New SLU commit is Adee Broesder from Lee’s Summit, MO (KC)
Adee plays both up top at Forward, and on the Wing with Sporting Blue Valley of the ECNL. She helped her 06 club team to the Champions League Playoffs along with her teammate and fellow SLU commit, Hope Kim. (2024).
She runs track for her high school, (400 & 800) Lee’s Summit West, where she was an all state performer. 
Adee played Super Cup Spring Soccer with Sporting Blue Valley instead of high school soccer.
Adee has also been a U16 USYNT pool player, as well as a top 50 InStat performer. (soccer analytics) And she is a TDS top 150 player.
 
 

Scouting the Loyola Ramblers
They often play a 4-2-3-1. 
Last year vs SLU they were up 1-0 and tied 0-0 at the half, before SLU changed formations both games to generate more offense. Then SLU outshot Loyola 28-3, and outscored Loyola 6-1 combined in those games. 
Loyola’s 3 star players have moved, Nemec is a grad transfer at Minnesota, Swanson and Kilburg ran out of eligibility. 
However, they return many other contributors, and they have added a few new promising pieces.
Well coached, well organized, Loyola passes well in its build up Cibulka/Cassidy wide to Hevey up through Harrison. And they get good spacing. Hevey to Harrison and vice versa is the strength of their attack. Hevey likes to cut inside. 
They lack numbers and experience up top with Eco and Harris providing pace behind the defense. Not a lot of target options and this is where their attack can break down. Cassidy takes a lot of free kicks and shots from distance. They are also experienced in goal as Lipkens is back. 
Loyola will be very competitive for much of the game. They play hard for 90 minutes. They have one goal games vs Illinois and Wisconsin, and they led KU in the 2nd half before falling. So it will take a good,’solid, road effort for a win tor SLU.

New 2025 commit for SLU is Kate Lewis, from St. Louis.
Kate was a national Olympic Development Team Goalkeeper. This included a trip to the Finals of the Dallas Cup. 
She is also the keeper on the Lou Fusz U17 Girls Academy (GA) Team. That team advanced to the GA National Quarterfinals. Kate is a club teammate of SLU commit Ava Scorfina.
Kate attends Visitation Academy, but she played on the Lou Fusz Composite Team instead of playing high school soccer. That team played an independent schedule of Super Cup teams, as well as in select showcases and tourneys including Jefferson Cup in Virginia. Kate was an All Region selection her Freshman year of high school. 
Kate has been a GA National Talent ID participant as well as multiple time Frontier Talent ID Camp invitee.
 
 
 
 

New 2025 SLU commit is Rylann Law, from Springfield, IL.
Rylann is a dynamic, pace forward who plays for SLSG and Glenwood High School in Chatham, Il. 
Previously she helped her Central Illinois United team to the U15 USYS National Championship Game where she was named to the national best 11 team. She has been an Illinois State and regional ODP player.
This past season, she helped lead the same team to the Girls Academy U16 National Quarterfinals. She was selected to multiple GA ID Camps.
And this year Rylann switched to SLSG for U17 season along with 2 of her teammates, including her twin sister Rowann. 
Rylann scored 42 goals while helping lead her high school team to the 2023 Illinois Class 2 State Championship. She was named All State IHSA and Chicagoland Soccer. 
 

It won't be on there. But all of the remaining road and home games should be because they are all league games. 
I'll get you a recap shortly when I get a chance. 3 of the 4 games were against similar level teams. Could have won all 3. More efficient finishing today. Big result.

Nebraska pregame.
Another Top 25 team. Nebraska is top 5 nationally in scoring offense. Top 5 in assists per game. (Denying service and tight marking without ball watching, will be essential)
They are a direct, pressing, transition scoring team. And they are efficient at doing so in a variety of ways. Outside backs getting forward providing service. They use the width of the field with their wings. Target passes and through balls. They are one of the best teams nationally finishing in the air. 
They have one of the best finishing forwards nationally in Eleanor Dale. She did not play in the game at SLU last year. Total package forward who must be held in check as much as possible. She can play in space, as a target, cleans up the 18. Strong aerial finisher too.
Their front four is very solid. They often work the right side of the offense up the middle with Belzile, and wide with Schwarz. Weber is also dangerous back side. They get Schwarz wide often. Lots and lots of service run of play volley finishes coming from that side. Their backs will provide long diagonal balls.
Nebraska also is vulnerable to give up some goals as well with their style of play. It’s a good style of play match up for SLU. Opportunity is there for SLU to get some goals in transition. 
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Nebraska plays a 4-2-3-1 team that sometimes looks like a 4-2-4 with its pressure. Beat the pressure and get some mismatch numbers. 
Nebraska returns all of its players except one from last season. Very experienced team. Combo of local and international players. Polished team.
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They are one of many teams that took an International trip this Summer. (Iceland)
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They have overpowered some defensive teams this season with lopsided wins. They make teams pay that do not mark tight inside the 18 and teams that turn it over. 
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Some of their wins include:
3-1 at Gonzaga
5-0 vs Mizzou
2-1 vs Baylor
4-0 at K-State
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Xavier 2 Pittsburgh 1
Another Top 25 win for Xavier over a Panther team that made the Sweet 16 last year.
Number 1 ranked BYU plays Utah this weekend.
Brown has a big one against Wake Forest.
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SLU 5 SIUE 1
4-2-3-1 for SIUE. 4-1-3-2 for SLU.
SLU was better as the game progressed, especially playing through the central defensive midfield. Finding ground target passes and diagonal balls. 
Credit SIUE for playing a tough physical first 45. Their nice goal was similar to a BYU goal. Target pass triangles, one touch 1v1 vs defender and draw the 20 yard free kick that was buried.
Still having an issue at times defending the trailer/2nd runner. And SLU is still getting way too many attacking third offensive fouls. Many of those weren’t fouls. But it’s been enough games where you have to tweak a bit to the way the game is called and value possession in that part of the field. 
PK call for SLU was fortunate. I wouldn’t have called it. 
Nice to see several commits and targets at the game. 
Shots 24-4. Corners 6-1. 
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SLU will be 21 in TDS national rankings this week.
BYU 3
Xavier 19
Brown 23
Nebraska 24
 
 
 

SLU has multiple new commits. 
First up, is 2024 Caigan Leonard from New Windsor, New York. (Hudson River Valley)
Caigan is a two footed, attacking wing, who plays club ball with Quickstrike Patriots FC, out of Westchester, NY. She helped lead her team to the U18 USYS National Championship in late July in Orlando. She formerly formerly played with Cedar Stars.  
She also plays high school ball for Cornwall Central High School, where she was a Class A All Section New York player last season.
 

New year, same few people who only post after a less than desired game result. Last year when you did the same thing, the team went on to go undefeated in 11 of the their next 12 games, including in the NCAA Tourney. 
https://www.billikens.com/forum/index.php?/topic/29758-slu-mens-soccer-thread/page/39/
And here you are yet again. For someone that doesn’t like soccer, you sure can’t stay away. Soccer school. Same time next year? 
 

Which Knights Inn should I bring my paystubs to? 

Which Knights Inn should I bring my paystubs to? 

No MLS “vibes guys” (Arriola, Roldan, Long, Morris, Acosta)!!!   Are we sure this is the same Gregg, or has he been replaced by an imposter?

Two different threads that have veered way off topic into Danny Mac, MLS, and streaming platforms. 
"SLU should move to the MVC" season is right around the corner here. Make sure you have your PAYSTUBS ready for check-in at the Knights Inn. 

Or my prom night - low expectations, but disappointment nonetheless.