SLU Women's Soccer Thread

[courtside]

5 hours ago, OkieBilliken said:

Congratulations to him.   Wish it wasn't Marquette.   How big a blow do you feel like this is for our program?  CKS appeared to refer to him almost like a co-head coach.   It was also comforting that he was in house if one of the SEC or Big 10 whales wanted to open the bank for our head coach.   

Short Answer:

On a scale of 1 to 10, how big of a loss is it for SLU? My answer is 10. 

…………………….

Long answer:

Chris was heavily involved in all aspects with SLU’s program. He was essentially a Co-Head Coach at SLU. Some of his strengths and some of Katie’s strengths were complimentary with one another.

More specifically, Chris was SLU’s lead recruiter locally, regionally, nationally. Thankfully SLU has strong classes for 2024 and 2025 filled. (Hopefully all 2025 players keep their commitments. That’s important. It’s a great class.) SLU does still have a Spring semester transfer target. But it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that some of the 40 (it ends up 75-100) or so early targets for 2026 are going to now look at Chris’ new school and elsewhere in addition to SLU. That’s how it works. 

Katie is also heavily involved with recruiting and does some of her own recruiting, but nowhere near what Chris does with recruiting. She targets a smaller number of specific players and she helps close what Chris finds. Recruiting requires a lot of time and relentless energy.

Chris has also been a big part of building SLU’s unique culture on and off of the field. He has endless ideas and he implements them with unfailing positive energy. 

Training, game tactics, player development, set pieces, in game adjustments, are also part of it. 

……………….

The good news is Katie found and hired Chris Allen. And he wasn’t an established college soccer coach at the time. She’s mentored him in many ways. However, SLU isn’t searching for a several year rebuild either at this time. So the new assistant has to be able to close recruits quickly this Summer at a high level in order for SLU to be continue to be successful at a high level. Otherwise there will be a few year drop off level and rebuild. And if another less proven assistant coach is hired for budgetary reasons, Katie will have to keep hitting home runs every so many years with these assistant hires.

Katie deserves plenty of credit for Chris’ development. That’s another plus for the next hire. But many of his personality/temperaments/skill sets are unique to Chris. He makes learning the boring or difficult things enjoyable for his players and students. 

……………

I knew 6 weeks ago that Chris was approached by a search firm for the Marquette position. Marquette waited 2 months after its season ended to make a change, in part because they thought they had a chance with Chris.

I was hoping that SLU would have done everything possible to keep him. And that would have been enough. (Santa Clara for example has a 17 year top assistant for example. Assistant coach turnover depends on the school. Some have more than others.)

……………….

Marquette has not been a big budget Women’s Soccer school. Their Men and Women’s hoops teams get the most money by a lot. But after that Men and Women’s lacrosse and even golf seem more prioritized there than soccer. Some there have said they want to make a new and bigger commitment to soccer. This shows they are off to a good start with that. 

………………

Nate Lie left Xavier for Kansas in part because the level of commitment between the two places is apples to oranges. It’s also why Marquette was seen as perhaps more appealing than Xavier. They had past success there, where Xavier’s success was essentially only during Lie’s time there.

Lie was able to bring his top assistant and recruiter with him to Kansas. He then hired a well regarded established 2nd assistant and made both associate head coaches. The 2nd assistant had worked at LSU, Michigan, and with U.S. Soccer. Lie’s 3rd (young) assistant was someone he initially found. An analytics expert who last season coached against SLU while at Penn State. And to top it off, Lie just hired a very popular (nationally) director of operations who was a smaller college coach. He’s even more popular with peers than Allen as a person nationally. That’s 4 good hires. 

Lie never would have been able to do that at Xavier. Not even close.

………………

Another example this cycle was Ken Masuhr leaving Vanderbilt for Miami Fl. He was a 9 year assistant at Vandy and he was with the same HC for 4 years prior to that at UPenn. So, 13 years, two schools with the same HC. And he thought Miami FL was the move for him. He also is a dynamic recruiter. And like Chris, he is good at finding players before other people do. That will be important at SLU.

……………..

At minimum SLU needs Shields plus one elite level national recruiter. Two of those at a school like SLU is less likely. One plus Katie would be good enough. Two preferred. Cal is very good technically, and with player development. That’s his niche. He’s also learning the college assistant game. So he would be good in that role. Jenna works with keepers and she isn’t heavily involved with recruiting.

…………………

And remember it takes time to build relationships at new places on the recruiting trail. So a new assistant will have to do that. But they need to have established relationships elsewhere too that they can bring with them. Otherwise again, there will be at least a temporary drop off.

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It’s interesting because Marquette just announced this week that they are building a new Men’s basketball practice facility. Their current one (Al McGuire Center) opened in 2004 at 120,000 square feet. The new building will be an addition/expansion to their 2019 built, 46,000 square foot athlete and human performance building, across the street.

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Previously the soccer teams there played at Valley Fields just South of their campus, which has a grass soccer stadium, and 2 additional  full length turf fields adjacent to it.. It also includes an onsite locker room building. And a few years back they added a seasonal dome cover for those fields. $6 million. They can now train year round regardless of weather. The school is also hnder construction with an 80,000 square feet $80 million wellness and rec facility across the street from their soccer facilities.

Their soccer teams have worked out at “Marquette Gym” which was built in 1922. It was where the basketball team practiced until 2004. They are based out of Marquette Gym but they also use the 2019 building sometimes too.

But moving forward, Marquette will be playing its soccer games at a brand new 8,000 capacity soccer stadium just East of their campus. They will share the new facility with Milwaukee’s new USL professional soccer team. (Their basketball team shares Fiserv forum with the Bucks, and it has their own separate space. And that works for them) 

https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/iron-district-state-grant

………………..

Chris is starting immediately at Marquette. They are way behind. His family will join him in June. 

Some may have mistakenly thought that Chris was permanently entrenched in St. Louis, and at SLU. He’s from St. Louis. He has lots of family locally. He’s been back high school and college soccer for 17 years. He’s had some opportunities. 

Chris is very deserving of the opportunity. Loyal, smart, hard working, unassuming, liked by everyone. I wish SLU would have been able to find a way to keep him at SLU. I’ll be rooting for Chris.

………………….

With their coaching change, Xavier lost transfers to Arkansas, Auburn, Texas A&M, and they may lose a few more. They also lost a few 2025 verbal commits with their coaching change. They do return and add some good ones too. But Georgetown is the team to beat in the Big East. And in a few years, perhaps Marquette will be as well. Chris has a lot of strong relationships with certain geographies and clubs. And he will be eventually competing with SLU for players. 

……………..

As for SLU, the clock doesn’t stop. No time for pity parties. 

Next big recruiting event is Dallas in February. Florida in March. Seattle in June. Richmond in July. Regional Super Cup starts this weekend. Winter sports season is still here. (That’s when you attend the second sport of your recruiting target)  Recruiting never stops. The good news is Chris left at a good time, during the offseason, with plenty of time to find a replacement. And SLU has full classes for 2024, 2025, and a few good transfers. 

……………..

So it will be a very important hire for SLU. There’s no reason why SLU can’t make a strong replacement hire. But it isn’t a given either. Change is tough for some people. But change also brings new opportunities as well.

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[Cowboy II]

-pretty sure someone posted earlier in this thread that the now former asst coach was not being allowed to interview 

[billikenfan05]

9 minutes ago, Cowboy II said:

-pretty sure someone posted earlier in this thread that the now former asst coach was not being allowed to interview 

This isn’t/wasn’t true. Credit to May, they have bucked up to keep Allen around for the last couple years. They weren’t holding him hostage, simply increasing his compensation. 

[courtside]

38 minutes ago, Cowboy II said:

-pretty sure someone posted earlier in this thread that the now former asst coach was not being allowed to interview 

Not sure if you are referring to me or not since you posted after my post. That isn’t something I have said. I have said before that both Chris and Katie were approached and turned down opportunities. 

I’ve never heard anywhere that Chris wasn’t allowed to interview anywhere else. 

I’m not going to mention names of other programs. I’m not going to mention other candidates names involved with his new job. (Power 5 assistants and mid major head coaches)

The situation is a celebration of Chris, his achievements for SLU’s program, and, for his new opportunity. It’s not a celebration for SLU’s inability to keep him, as challenging as that may be. 

[OkieBilliken]

Just curious, did we ever replace Chris Allen?  

[Lord Elrond]

8 minutes ago, OkieBilliken said:

Just curious, did we ever replace Chris Allen?  

I was looking earlier today on the website, still shown as vacant. Coach Shields can hire anyone she wants, I’ll trust her judgement without question, she’s been that good.

[JettFlight5]

14 minutes ago, Lord Elrond said:

I was looking earlier today on the website, still shown as vacant. Coach Shields can hire anyone she wants, I’ll trust her judgement without question, she’s been that good.

Can vacant coach the basketball team?

[OkieBilliken]

Okay, they just announced a 10 person incoming recruiting class.   Do we have 10 roster spots available???  I know we also had some transfers incoming.  Does anyone know how this class is ranked?

[courtside]

16 hours ago, OkieBilliken said:

Okay, they just announced a 10 person incoming recruiting class.   Do we have 10 roster spots available???  I know we also had some transfers incoming.  Does anyone know how this class is ranked?

https://slubillikens.com/news/2024/2/29/womens-soccer-adds-10-players-to-2024-roster.aspx

There were no surprises in the announcement. They have all been discussed here. There were 2 additional mid-semester incoming transfers that were previously announced. Both are on campus and playing Spring ball. And SLU is also expected to add an additional player, to make the roster total 33 for 2024. (SLU has 11 Freshmen commits for the 2025 class)

……..,……..

The additional player expected is Elise Le, a defender at Xavier where she started all 62 games she played the past 3 seasons. A very good, reliable defender, Elise also brings 5’10 size to her left back position. 

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Unlike some of its peers, SLU typically doesn’t have many early enrolled recruits. The trend in recent years is for schools to bring in Freshman a semester early in the Spring to get acclimated. It’s common.

SLU prefers to let those players enjoy and finish their high school years and arrive in the Summer. Addy Lang is an exception this Spring. Addy was a highly recruited defensive holding midfielder out of Kansas City. SLU lost both starters to graduation at the position. Addy played Summer ball with Caroline Kelly last year, and she routinely played up an age group, so she’s used to playing with older players.

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The roster size is typical of where SLU wants the roster to be annually, around 30, a little over, a little under. And that really isn’t much different than a basketball roster based on how many players play at a given time.

More successful teams have a 2nd 11 group of players that can play at a similar level to the 1st 11. With injuries, player development, and transfers, this is a typical roster size. 

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Each school has their own recruiting strategy. SLU typically likes to target roughly 100 players in a class or recruiting cycle. Of that 100, they will get serious with about a third of that group. And they will get commitments from roughly a third of that. So, 100/33/11 type of philosophy.  SLU has roughly 80 plus recruiting targets from 17 states so far in the 2026 class.

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Recruiting rankings have some marketing value, but they are overrated. With that said, re-stating for purposes of full disclosure, I am a consultant with the TDS’ Men’s and Women’s rankings. At the moment, the class is ranked 33rd nationally. But I believe it is better than that. It will likely get into the top 30 or 25. It will take 1 or 2 more deeper NCAA runs for a few more people to come around. But they are getting there.

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Remember, SLU has had 5 recent All Americans. And none of them were the highest recruited players nationally. SLU recruited and developed them anyway. And what matters is the year end ranking based on non-conference results, league results, post season results. That’s what matters most.

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SLU has recently recruited events in Florida, Texas, Kentucky, St. Louis, Kansas City, Iowa, Illinois, and elsewhere. They will be returning to Florida next week, and they will be in Virginia, Seattle, California, among other places this Spring and Summer. 

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[courtside]

 

Colleen Corbin (Boyd) is the new SLU Women’s Soccer Associate Head Coach. 

 

Most recently Colleen was the Head Coach at Wyoming the past 3 seasons. While there, she led their team a Mountain West Conference Regular Season Title last season. And, she was named the Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year. 

 

Prior to Wyoming, Corbin was a 3 year assistant under Josh Walters at James Madison in the CAA. She was eventually promoted to Associate Head Coach. 

 

While at JMU, Corbin spent time at the Tovo Soccer Academy (Dutch/Spanish) outside of Barcelona, with Todd Beane and his staff. Beane played at Dartmouth under Bobby Clark, who also coached at Stanford, and Notre Dame. 

 

Josh Walters, the JMU Head Coach was previously a 6 year assistant for Amanda Cromwell at UCF and mostly, UCLA. And, he spent 2 seasons at Florida State under Mark Krikorian prior to that. Walters has a good reputation as a coach, and, for developing other coaches. 

 

Prior to JMU, Corbin spent a year at Arizona State under Kevin Boyd. Kevin Boyd (no relation) spent 10 years each as Head Coach at ASU and Cal Berkeley. He most recently has had immediate success at Milwaukee. 

 

Corbin began her coaching career at Cal State Northridge (CSUN), near her childhood home in Los Angeles County.

 

She played professional soccer in New York and Boston for 2 seasons, before beginning her coaching career. 

 

A La Cañada Flintridge California native, Corbin was an All American Goalkeeper at Oregon State in the Pac 12. She helped lead her team to 3 NCAA Tourneys as a player. She was also an All Academic Pac 12 honoree as well. 

 

Corbin’s college coach was Linus Rhode, a former All American player on Portland’s Final Four team, and former Canadian National Team player. He’s now the Executive Director at Northwest Elite in Portland. 

 

Corbin’s grandfather, Bob Boyd, was a standout basketball player and Head Coach at USC. Her dad, 6’7 also played basketball at USC. At 6 feet tall, Colleen will be a factor in SLU Women’s Soccer pick up basketball games. Colleen’s husband Nick was a D-3 college baseball player. 

 

A past 30 under 30 NSCAA Coaches selection, Corbin is highly regarded by her peers as a successful all around coach with a competitive growth mindset, on. and off of the field. She’ll bring indefatigable positive, energy to the program. 

 

Corbin has been a leading candidate early in the process, shortly after Chris Allen left.

 

Katie Shields prefers to recruit players on the rise, with a lot of upside. And that’s what Corbin brings as a coach. And she was looking for someone who can be a “right hand” to her with everything in the program. Corbin fits that too. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[OkieBilliken]

12 minutes ago, courtside said:

 

Colleen Corbin (Boyd) is the new SLU Women’s Soccer Associate Head Coach. 

 

Most recently Colleen was the Head Coach at Wyoming the past 3 seasons. While there, she led their team a Mountain West Conference Regular Season Title last season. And, she was named the Mountain West Conference Coach of the Year. 

 

Prior to Wyoming, Corbin was a 3 year assistant under Josh Walters at James Madison in the CAA. She was eventually promoted to Associate Head Coach. 

 

While at JMU, Corbin spent time at the Tovo Soccer Academy (Dutch/Spanish) outside of Barcelona, with Todd Beane and his staff. Beane played at Dartmouth under Bobby Clark, who also coached at Stanford, and Notre Dame. 

 

Josh Walters, the JMU Head Coach was previously a 6 year assistant for Amanda Cromwell at UCF and mostly, UCLA. And, he spent 2 seasons at Florida State under Mark Krikorian prior to that. Walters has a good reputation as a coach, and, for developing other coaches. 

 

Prior to JMU, Corbin spent a year at Arizona State under Kevin Boyd. Kevin Boyd (no relation) spent 10 years each as Head Coach at ASU and Cal Berkeley. He most recently has had immediate success at Milwaukee. 

 

Corbin began her coaching career at Cal State Northridge (CSUN), near her childhood home in Los Angeles County.

 

She played professional soccer in New York and Boston for 2 seasons, before beginning her coaching career. 

 

A La Cañada Flintridge California native, Corbin was an All American Goalkeeper at Oregon State in the Pac 12. She helped lead her team to 3 NCAA Tourneys as a player. She was also an All Academic Pac 12 honoree as well. 

 

Corbin’s college coach was Linus Rhode, a former All American player on Portland’s Final Four team, and former Canadian National Team player. He’s now the Executive Director at Northwest Elite in Portland. 

 

Corbin’s grandfather, Bob Boyd, was a standout basketball player and Head Coach at USC. Her dad, 6’7 also played basketball at USC. At 6 feet tall, Colleen will be a factor in SLU Women’s Soccer pick up basketball games. Colleen’s husband Nick was a D-3 college baseball player. 

 

A past 30 under 30 NSCAA Coaches selection, Corbin is highly regarded by her peers as a successful all around coach with a competitive growth mindset, on. and off of the field. She’ll bring indefatigable positive, energy to the program. 

 

Corbin has been a leading candidate early in the process, shortly after Chris Allen left.

 

Katie Shields prefers to recruit players on the rise, with a lot of upside. And that’s what Corbin brings as a coach. And she was looking for someone who can be a “right hand” to her with everything in the program. Corbin fits that too. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That is pretty impressive to pull a successful head coach to be your top assistant.     Wyoming’s website still lists her as their coach.  Very cool.  

[courtside]

Congratulations to former Billiken player and assistant Olivia Silverman, who has accepted an assistant position at the University of Cincinnati. She will join Erica Demers’ staff in the Big 12 Conference.

A former 1st Team All A10 goalkeeper, Liv was a 3 year assistant at SLU before making a change to be a personal trainer. 

Liv then joined Maddi Moon’s UMSL staff before returning to her hometown to coach under Eric Demers. Moon also coaches several Billikens in Summer Ball with the SLSG WPSL team. Moon’s husband Logan is a SLU Baseball assistant. They met at Central Arkansas.

UC is one of 12 teams along with SLU that is competing in this year’s Spring Cup. 

[courtside]

SLU 2 Mizzou 0

“It just means more.”

Spring Ball is an opportunity to play a lot of players, try new things, etc….and to not care too much about results while always trying to win and be successful.

Once in a while, a Spring game is a little bigger than others. This was one of those games. 

Lots of high priority recruiting targets from near and far were in attendance. 

Spirited game. SLU played 19 players. 2 additional players were unavailable due to injury. Gaebe has been out the past 4 months since shortly after the Fall season. She will be ready for Summer Ball. Autumn Jackson unfortunately had another set back with her knee. And her time table is longer.

Lucie Schwartz who sat out the 2023 season with a knee injury, looked like her old self. She set up SLU’s first goal on the left wing, forcing a turnover, beating the defender. She earned a penalty which was converted by Lyndsey Heckel. 

Early in the 2nd half, SLU played a nice diagonal ball for Sawyer. She zipped past two defenders in alone and she was taken down from behind for a penalty. It was converted by Addy Lang. 

Mizzou was competitive, as they have made small progressive steps each year under Golan. And when they add their Freshmen this Fall, they should take a step forward this year in the SEC. SLU will also be adding 9 more Freshmen this Fall to their group. 

Good to see SLU commits, targets, and recent former Billikens at the game. (Kelly, Miller, Lawler, Preusser).

Both teams had some good chances during the game. 

SLU was the better team and deserved the win. Good possession and combination play. And they figured out that against a 3-5-2 formation, diagonal balls switching fields, can be an effective strategy. But Mizzou played a good competitive game. 4-2-3-1 formation for SLU

SLU won its Spring Cup group. And they will play either Michigan State or Northwestern in the group crossover game at Grand Park in Indy. (Notre Dame has been eliminated but will play a consolation game.)