SLUBALLS

Yep. Looked like old Klein buzzing around the pitch. Had to be an absolute amazing experience for him. And to think he and Becher may be on pitch next week together is pretty amazing. Boy they were to watch at SLU.

Has there been an actual announcement on the 2023 class coming in and details on each recruit like we have seen in the past? I know names have come up on here via a variety of sources but I always like SLU's run down and Kalish's comments on each.

Cool way to start a nice Saturday morning….got to bench for my boys’ second game of Lou Fusz Tourney at 8am. Coach on the field next to me walks over to confirm field numbers. Immediately recognize him even after 20 years since he was at SLU….Jacky Jewsbury. That guy had a great career at SLU and in the MLS. Said he’s now back in KC area and was in town for tourney, coaching his daughter’s team. Still looks like he could get on the field with ease.

Pretty sure it was Mads: https://slubillikens.com/sports/mens-soccer/roster/mads-stistrup-petersen/12164

SLU beat Kentucky yesterday 1-0. Fun game that was delayed a couple hours due to weather. KY was number one seed last fall in NCAAs so it was a good test. New center back transfer - Diego - from Campbell is a beast. New freshman - Cole Dougherty - already has a D1 body and frame. Think backline will be fairly solid with Max and veteran left back transfer from Indy manning the line. Don’t have much given I was talking with parents of my club team a lot while my boys were ball boys.

#1 Recruiting class for SLU. Couple honors for a couple commits: And

Love all the experienced national team coaches on here. And the ones who have been studying other teams’ tactics, working with the players day in and day out, trying to create the best lineup, etc…..heck with all this knowledge here in this one message board, we should put this board to be the next national team coach given how obvious it all is to be successful at the World Cup.

We started really well until IU came into the game in the first half. Even half overall. Second half was basically IU with the possession as SLU could not sustain moves forward and appeared to be playing for the counter as we let IU play through the back around half line. Klein had a couple nice chances as did Johnson. Disappointed but on the other hand, the fact SLU was able to win the A10, get to the NCAAs, and win a game is pretty good relative to the rebuild we had to do with so much talent leaving last year. Now we will see what a couple years success can do to help keep momentum going for the program especially on the recruiting front. Recruiting class is reportedly tops in the NCAAs but I hope the biggest talents of the group make it to SLU’s campus next year. Replacing Tofern, Klein, Buendia, Suarez, and Warrington should be manageable.

1-0 Memphis. Sorry but what a complete disappointment for a team coming in as the A10 champ, 2 seed and a 20-1 record…..and then they lose at home. Memphis played us straight-up and converted on 1 of their 5 shots. Long ball to back post and a sliding Memphis player taps the ball just inside the post. My single biggest complaint was the unforced turnovers by SLU …. over and over again they simply killed any build-up, possession or quick moves forward. The 10 or so shots we had were nothing that truly menaced the Memphis keep, all 5’5” of her. Brutal way to end the season.

Seen worse in a 12 year old club soccer game where one of my players literally put the ball straight vertical over the crossbar form no more than 6-8 inches out. : ) The free kick called in the second half when Klein was hauled down at halfline and the ref didn't allow for advantage given Anderson was off to the races, was horrible. Yes, SLU can get an at-large bid even without winning the conference given our SOS of schedule. Loss last night would have hurt our chances last night a bit. It also helps that we were so good last year that will still influence things this year....there was a year when Creighton went something like 10-8 and still got an at-large due to their SOS.

3 PK saves by SLU. Wow. See you Sunday.

Can we get off the refs? Let's talk about the game and the girls.....we sound like typical CYC parents b-tching after a local CYC game. On that note.....very physical game on both sides which was great to see. SLU absorbed early pressure in the first half before establishing a better presence in the the middle third and offensive third. Goal was a bit garbage off direct kick but when I saw the goalie lose sight of the ball in the middle of a bunch of players in the six yard box, it was rugby time....meaning do what ever you need to to get the ball across the line and SLU did. As noted, no shots by Arkansas in first half. They also lost one of their better players in the tall, long, big center back......she was really good in the time she was out there. Second half, Arkansas came out pounding on SLU trying to the the tying goal but SLU held and eventually the push subsided and SLU again establishing themselves upfield. The handball.....from my angle the Ark girls hand was close to the body and given the closeness of the shot, probably seen as unintentional. To be sure, it would have been nice to grab a second. Anyway, Ark pressed hard in the last 7 minutes to grab something.....the long, tall left mid was the one I was concerned about but she didn't get much of an opportunity to do anything SLU did well to thwart the attacks....I will say it was disappointing to see the SLU girls lofting the ball to no one or to Ark at the 5 minute mark instead of trying to string together some level of possession to see the game out. Courtside will have better color on individuals.....Graebe is a beast. That one middie was super fast and dangerous. Groark held down the middle. Great time out there last night as well.

Selfishly, after having coached club soccer for 20+ years, I can tell my daughter has natural talent for soccer so would love her to be inspired by the SLU Women. But, at 9 she's still exploring what she wants to do.....gymnastics, volleyball, basketball, cheer, youtube influencer, etc.....as she should.

Will be there with my daughter tonight.....hoping she gets a bit inspired watching the ladies after she gets her obligatory face painting, balloon and wears herself out in the inflatables.

I hear news on the recruits for 2022 should be coming out soon but one can easily see the amount of roster turnover between the fall and spring. Lots of talent to replace although the guys that played vs Indy this spring looked very strong this past spring.