SLU Women's Soccer Thread

[courtside]

31 minutes ago, Midtown Madness said:

 

This happened Wednesday night. 

I also won’t be publicly naming the 3 SLU Men’s Soccer players who won’t be returning. 

Some of us are here for very different reasons. 

[slufan13]

10 minutes ago, courtside said:

 

Some of us are here for very different reasons. 

I'm afraid to know what your reasons are when it comes to high school girls soccer 

[RiseOfTheBillikens]

3 hours ago, Midtown Madness said:

 

Thanks for the updates. You guys are a great source.

[courtside]

8 hours ago, Gremio14 said:

We truly are operating at a Power 5 level in Women’s soccer.  Nice to see - at least for the insignificant minority of those of us on this board who enjoy a good soccer game…;)

 

“Operating” as in performance? Yes. SLU is performing at a higher tier soccer school level, both Power 5 and not power 5. (not all top tier soccer schools are Power 5) “Operating” as in resources and some other things? Not as much.

It’s a good opportunity to acknowledge and appreciate Emily Groark and Anna Lawler. Both were top 40 national recruits. Both transferred to SLU from Power 5 schools when others weren’t. Both put in a lot of work over the years, enduring several knee surgeries between the two of them. 

 

Groark and Lawler helped raise SLU’s profile and reputation on the recruiting trail, along with SLU winning at a higher level. Now it’s common for SLU to get incoming high level transfers to fit a mutual need. Houck, Simon, Luebbert, Welker, Howard are examples of that. 

 

It also has helped attract higher tier four year players as well. SLU competes against high level soccer schools in recruiting. Win some, lose some. They don’t get every recruit they want, and they don’t compete with a select few highest level schools. But SLU is getting a higher percentage of priority targets. And they are targeting higher level players too. The geography has also expanded. The system and formation SLU plays compared to some others, and the culture, are

also contributing factors with some players.

 

There is still a ways to go and there is still some work to do. But SLU can and does compete well with a majority of high level programs, both on the field, and, in recruiting. And Groark and Lawler were important pioneers in the transfer market for SLU.

 

 

 

[thetorch]

On 12/2/2023 at 1:20 PM, courtside said:

This happened Wednesday night. 

I also won’t be publicly naming the 3 SLU Men’s Soccer players who won’t be returning. 

Some of us are here for very different reasons. 

THE SOURCE for Womens Soccer news thinks its not worth it to cover roster turnover?  Then throws in the scoop that 3 mens players aren't returning.  Guess I have to slide into your DMs for their names.

What a numb nut.

[Midtown Madness]

On 12/2/2023 at 4:18 PM, RiseOfTheBillikens said:

Thanks for the updates. You guys are a great source.

Thank you for the support. It means everything, especially right during this MBB season, no joke.

[courtside]

On 11/20/2023 at 10:12 AM, courtside said:

SLU in the polls:

Top Drawer Soccer: 10

…………..

TDS:

BYU 4

Penn State 7

Nebraska 8

SLU 10

Brown 20

Georgetown 22

……………..

Every remaining Elite 8 team is ranked in the top 8. Only Memphis at 9, is ahead of SLU of teams not remaining. 

……………..

 

SLU in the polls:

United Soccer Coaches: 11

Top Drawer Soccer 10

………………..

United Soccer Coaches Final Poll:

BYU 4

Penn State 5

Nebraska 7

Brown, Xavier, Georgetown were 3 of the 4 teams receiving the most non top 25 votes.

……………

Top Drawer Soccer:

BYU 4

Nebraska 8

SLU 10

Brown 20

Georgetown 22

…………..
 

[courtside]

On 11/29/2023 at 11:17 AM, courtside said:

SLU’s Emily Gaebe was named by United Soccer Coaches and Missouri Athletic Club, as one of 15 Semifinalists for best player in Women’s College Soccer.

…………..

Of the other 14 MAC Hermann Semifinalists, SLU played against 5 of them:

Eleanor Dale, Nebraska,

Julia Leas, Georgetown,

Brecken Mozingo BYU

Brittany Raphino, Brown

Laveni Vaka, BYU. 

…………..

 

MAC Hermann Finalists:

Eleanor Dale, Nebraska

Onyi Echegini, Florida State

Brecken Mozingo, BYU

…………..

SLU played against two of the three finalists. 

………….

 

[courtside]

On 10/27/2023 at 1:10 PM, courtside said:

Coaching Carousel:

Mark Francis retired after 25 years at Kansas. 262 wins. 9 NCAA Tourneys. 2 Sweet 16's. 2 Big 12 Titles.

KU RPI in recent years: 201, 107, 98, 125, 11, 20, 93, 25, 69, 37, 124, 78, 47, 157, 57, 27, 79, 52.

.............

Purdue has parted ways with Drew Roff after 9 seasons. 1 NCAA Tourney in 2021 when SLU played them. (Another example of strong recent SLU scheduling) Roff was successful at Illinois State and Indianpolis, prior to Purdue.

He was an All American player at Michigan State. Quick success at Indianapolis before a strong run at Illinois State. 6 MVC Titles and 5 NCAA appearances at ISU in 8 seasons.

Purdue RPI during Roff's tenure: 194, 186, 15, 225, 66, 97, 64, 180, 72.

................

 

Nate Lie was named by Kansas as its next head coach. Big get for KU. Big shoes to fill as Xavier. Lie is someone that did a lot with less. 

Lie was the Xavier head coach for 7 seasons. 4 NCAA Tourneys in the past 5 seasons. 3 regular season Big East Titles. 1 Conference Tourney Title. Nate played and coached at Miami of Ohio. And he also coached at the University of Cincinnati.

 

SLU recruits head to head against both Xavier and Kansas (mostly but not always successfully in recent years) on a regular basis. Similar to SLU, Xavier has had some success with good if not under the radar, local and regional players, and developing them. X also landed a SLU target last year. SLU has out recruited Kansas in KC and that has been something of note in more recent years. Not all targets cross over.

 

It was quite the image to see Nate Lie on the KU private jet, so soon after he and his team took the long bus ride from Cincinnati to DC for the Big East Conference Tourney. The commitment levels are very different at the two schools. 

 

SLU and Xavier have been playing long term, home and home. The road team often wins the game. Lots of mutual respect with Nate Lie. I expect KU to return to the SLU schedule in the near future.

 

…………

Ken Masuhr is the new head coach at U of Miami FL. Big recruiting shoes to fill at Vandy.

 

A relentless high level recruiter, he was the long time Associate Head Coach for Darren Ambrose at both Vandy and UPenn for 13 seasons, including in 5 out of the last 7 NCAA Tourneys.

 

It’s significant as Vandy has gone head to head with SLU on the recruiting trail more often in recent years. Elite academics, combined with high level soccer in a good league have often been SLU’s competition in recent years.

 

Win some. Lose some. Draw some. Caitlin Chase tor example, committed to Vandy this fall after taking an official visit to SLU. And they landed SLU target Sydney Watts last year. But SLU also landed several players of which Vandy had recruited, including one of its most recent transfers and a few others 2025 players.

 

His recruiting and work with their defense was a big reason for their recent success of 5 NCAA Tourneys in the past 7 seasons as well as winning the SEC regular season and conference tourney titles. 

 

The U’s location and league affiliation will help recruiting as the school seeks to improve other aspects to raise its competitive level.

…………..

 

Purdue hired Richard Moodie after he spent 7 years at 

 

He led South Alabama to 4 NCAA Tourneys in 7 seasons, and his team this year was inexplicably left out of the NCAA Tourney despite their strong 27 RPI. He spent a long time in D-2 prior.

 

As is often the case with coaching turnover, some players depart. Former SLU target Grace Jackson changed her commitment from Purdue to Michigan State. And St. Louisan Zoe Cuneio (no SLU connection) transferred to Tennessee.

…………………

[courtside]

Last call for the College Cup Final Four.

Come for the Cougs. Stay for the Seminoles.

………………..

Stanford 2 BYU 0

 

Two very early goals for Stanford. 75 minutes of elite defending of the best attack nationally. A plethora of BYU scoring chances. And, a little luck. 

 

Usual formations for BYU 4-1-3-2 and Stanford’s 4-3-3.

 

Stanford is one of the few young teams to make a deep run in this year’s tourney. It’s mostly first and second year players after 5th year leaders, Doms and Wesley.

 

BYU is one of the oldest teams, and they returned 13 players from their Final Four teams two years ago. 

 

2nd minute Long ball over the top against the BYU press, from Brandt up to Aikey. 1v2 center backs. She split them, and she squared a pass to Montoya right top of rhe 18 1v1 with Peterson. Too much space given. Shot top bins far post. 1-0. 

 

4th minute ground through ball from Wesley up to Doms who cuts to her right and rips it top left upper 90 from 25 yards. BYU plays only one holding mid and Shepherd struggled to get back in position and she gave the space. Perfect shot from distance. 2-0.

 

Middle of first half. Mozingo made several right side diagonal runs. Fryer ripped one off of the post in the 22nd minute after forcing a turnover. 

 

23rd minute Stratton on the ground up to Mozingo again, right foot this time, service to the 6 for Folino who headed it just beyond the post. Very close.

 

39th minute. Down the right flank past Doms and Brandt, cut inside the 18 but Wesley blocked it at the six. It was going in low far post.

 

39th minute. Vaka made a run all the way to the 30, slots a through ball to Walbruch who got past Evans, but again, Wesley’s help defense blocks a goal at the 8. Walbruch was an effective strong on the ball big target for BYU.

 

41st minute. Nice transition goal for BYU as Warner made a left flank run. Good work from Wade-Katoa in the middle of the field to play her in space. Through ball up to Bailey 1v1 with Evans edge of the box. She plays an additional through ball one time finish for Walbruch who split Wesley and Brandt. But the play was incorrectly ruled offside. It wasn’t close. Game changer.

 

57th minute Mozingo beat two defenders, cut into the 18 from the right side but Wesley again blocked the shot at the six.

 

57th minute. Mozingo again right side edge of the 18. Centers past two BYU players who can’t get a touch. Ball landed at the feet of Boren back post. She one times a shot under the bar and straight down from 10 yards. No goal. Didn’t cross the line.

 

78th minute. Walbruch missed a header just wide from left wing service. Caught Campbell off of her line. 

 

87th minute, deep flank run from Smith Griffitts, service at the 6 for Walbruch. Shot blocked again by Wesley.

 

Stanford blocked a lot of shots and they often got a foot on a lot of crosses. They forced BYU to best them wide. (and they almost did) They were not going to get best from 20 yards in their central defense. 

 

Great run for BYU, 2 Final Fours in 3 seasons, and, a lot of fun to watch. 

 

…………………

 

College Cup Final Four:

 

Florida State 2 Clemson 0

………………

 

A pair of 4-3-3 formations that at times look like 4-2-3-1. 

……………

 

Florida State, considered to be the best team this year, has a nice blend of players from Mark Krikorian’s tenure, and 2nd year coach Brian Pensky. Pensky inherited a lot, but he’s added some great pieces too. Recruiting is still elite. No team I ssw was unbeatable. But FSU was the best team I saw this season.

 

This is Pensky’s 2nd season there after having success at Tennessee and Maryland. He inherited Brown, Olsson, Iwai, Echegini, Roque, Neebeth, Flynn. He added Dudley, Van Zanten, Gilchrist, Pais, and Huff. 

…………….

 

Good start for Clemson. Bornkamp missed a header. 16th minute. Roque needed a spectacular save on Davis. Nice combination play after the long ball to switch the field. Screen shot from left side 18.

 

Clemson has a younger and less experienced attacking group outside of Bornkamp. So they need their outside backs, Davis and Morrison to get forward. FSU has Dudley, who may be young, but she’s the best Freshman in the country and is likely going pro. Elite size and pace and technical finishing up top. 

 

24th minute Dudley square to Echegini. Through ball wide to Olsson. Service back to Dudley, she missed one that she’d like back, from inside the 6. 

 

FSU has a variety of attacking options, direct, wide, combination, isolation. Eventually one of them usually breaks through. They initiate physicality in the final 3rd. Clemson, to their credit, gave it right back in a very chippy 3rd meeting between the two teams. 

 

38th minute. Set piece corner from Huff. Cleared to 30 yards out. But two consecutive half volleys, from Pais and Gilchrist, sent it right side of the box for Zipay with space who adds her own 3rd half volley upper 90 near post from inside the 18. Seemingly harmless play became 1-0, and essentially a 2nd 11 goal. 

 

Clemson needed to eventually open up their compact shape. They pressed higher. And FSU has lots of weapons in transition.

 

Clemson tried to keep it compact and opportunistic with its back 6. Morris, White, Davis, Hershfelt, Conti. They were unable to get one on a few outside back runs and service. They did well at this for at least the first 30 minutes.

…………

As the game opened up a bit more in the middle of the field, FSU added one in the 53rd minute. 

 

Midfield throw in for Morrison. Neabeth had a nice hustle play to step in front and volley the ball up the sideline past Morris to Dudley, who was marked by White. 1v1 in space mismatch. White is a good center back. But Dudley was able to make an inside move along the far sideline and make a long diagonal run. Help d was late on rotation. And Dudley buried it far upper 90 from well inside the box. 2-0.

 

Tough ask for Clemson with their personnel and style to come back from 0-2.   

 

66th minute. Another Morris run won a corner for Clemson. Davis service and Bornkamp put the loose ball just wide. Clemson just wasn’t efficient with 50/50 balls inside the attacking 18.

 

81st minute. It had been several minutes of the Back 6 for FSU then winning a the middle of field more and more. Brown, Iwai, Gilchrist etc…good combo play. Header for Brown saved right on. Another breakaway for Brown, via a great through ball from Nesbeth. Goal saver from Mackiewicz. 

 

The ability to play a wide variety of styles with premier athleticism and physicality, has FSU on the championship door step once again. They can play transition in space. They can play build from the back possession (their preference). They can press and then play  back pass possession and re-press. They can do a lot of different things more than many teams.

…………….

[courtside]

 

NCAA Championship:

 

Florida State 4 Stanford 1

 

5th minute great chance for Stanford. Short corner, point blank shot by Aikey over the bar. Slow rotation for FSU defending. Easily could have been 1-0. Stanford had another decent chance as well a little later. And that could have changed the game.

 

FSU gradually began controlling more possession in the Stanford half. Their first goal was fortunate. Nesbeth forced a turnover snd she played it wide sideline ball to Olsson who was closely marked wide. But her service rolled all the way through the box to Dudley which was very fortunate. One cut inside, a foul and a PK. 1v4. Dudley perfect PK. 1-0 FSU. It changed the game. 

 

24 seconds later and 7 touches later it was 2-0 FSU. Forced turnover, transition up the field, Nesbeth poked it back to to force the turnover, long ball from Gilchrist up to Dudley who lays it off to on running Brown to Echegini as she overlaps. Ball played back to Huff who chipped it over the top back to Brown who never stopped running. She buries it in alone from 8 yards out. 2-0. 24 seconds. 

 

…………

2nd half

…………..

Stanford was forced to play a way it doesn’t prefer, and which is challenging against FSU. 

………….

51st minute. Stanford got one back. Aikey got past 3 defenders on a quick throw in towards the goal. She played it square to Kitahata who laid it off for Doms. Quick move and shot inside the 18, and Stanford had life 1-2.

……………

56th minute. Gilchrist to Huff to Dudley. Service far post for Nesbeth, point blank stop by Campbell to keep it 2-1. Stanford increasingly had trouble marking Dudley in space. 

……………

58th minute off of an own 3rd throw in, Dudley plays a long ball over the top for Olsson 1v1 in space with Wesley. Olsson won the race, left side, far post finish. 3-1.

……………

FSU has the size, speed, strength, athleticism to get past Stanford’s elite defenders in space. Vs BYU Stanford was able to stay compact with a leas and get strong help d. It was mostly Mozingo attacking from the wings and BYU possession the whole game.

…………..

61st minute. Gilchrist diagonal ground pass to Olsson cutting in on the wing. She got past two defenders and drew Wesley. But she calmly laid the ball off to Brown, running end to end again, near post, upper 90 finish. 4-1. 

…………

Echegini, Dudley, Huff make the offense go for Stanford. They are double trouble when they get Olsson, Brown, Nesbeth, and their center backs involved higher. 

………….

84th minute. FSU wins a 50/50 ball, Olsson to Dudley, back to Olsson. Ball bounces uo in the middle of the 18. Echegini got their first to knock it. 5-1. Three Stanford players couldn’t clear. 

……………

 

 

[bauman]

On 11/30/2023 at 4:36 PM, billikenfan05 said:

@Pistoland I have been joking every time we see Duff post about his daughter at Clemson "when is she gonna transfer home?" Wouldn't be her as Clemson is still alive in the Final Four. 

She has the total package, skills, size, aggressiveness and instincts.

[courtside]

Pleased to say SLU has 4 players on the Top Drawer Soccer postseason top 100 list of players. The list is a combination of regular season and postseason. 56 schools are represented. Only two schools have more players on the list. (Florida State, Stanford). 

Lydnsey Heckel 18

Emily Gaebe 32

Hamnah Larson 67

Emily Puricelli 93

…………….

Gaebe and Heckel were also represented on the Top Drawer Soccer postseason Best 11 teams. This is also a combination of regular season and postseason. It’s based on a 3-4-3 formation. Heckel was named a top 6 defender nationally. Gaebe was named a top 9 forward. 

……………

Elsewhere:

College Soccer News named both Gaebe and Heckel 2nd Team All Americans. 3 teams. 12 players per team. 

………….

Final SLU Rankings:

Top Drawer Soccer 10

United Soccer Coaches 11

College Soccer News 14

………………

SLU’s postseason RPI ranking of 10 matches their end of regular season RPI of 2022. 

SLU went 2-2-1 vs five RPI top 43 teams in the non-conference regular season. SLU added postseason wins over RPI number 38 and RPI number 12, while falling in 2OT to RPI number 4. 

Last season SLU went 3-1 against RPI top 60 non-conference regular season.
…………..

https://x.com/sluwsoccer/status/1733976523734925645?s=46&t=TsCCkuE48YmnkWfoKqc_Ng

There are no shortcuts. This photo was taken during the 1st half of SLU commit Rylann Law’s league game, while it was still sunny and 40 degrees.

Not pictured, was the 2nd half when the sun went down and her team added two goals to win their game over KCA. Also not pictured. SLU commits Audrey Smith and Ava Rademeyer (temporarily out with injury) winning the next game after that over SLU commit Addy Lang’s team. (Hockett and Chier played the night before.)

Congrats to Audrey, Ava, and their team for another undefeated season. They will begin their quest for a 3rd straight ECNL national title in Seattle in June.

SLU was unable to make the Norco, GA, Nashville ECNL, and Orlando USYS, as they were both adding players and evaluating players locally and regionally at league games, showcases, and team hosted events. 

Congrats to Ashley Miller’s team for advancing in their USYS national playoff quest with 3 lopsided wins in Orlando this past weekend.

Lakewood Ranch, FL is up next in January. 

…………….

[meerkat]

A little late, but Caroline Kelly is transferring.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C0z6uB6OPg3/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Big loss.

[Cowboy II]

-I wonder what changed? thanks for your contributions as a Billiken, Caroline

[willie]

1 hour ago, Cowboy II said:

-I wonder what changed? thanks for your contributions as a Billiken, Caroline

I am sure Courtside will give us the inside but maybe she didn’t like being downgraded from being the number one option. 

[courtside]

7 hours ago, meerkat said:

A little late, but Caroline Kelly is transferring.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C0z6uB6OPg3/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Big loss.

I mentioned in this thread on December 1st, that some of the 5th year players were eager to return, but, a few were reluctant, but willing to do so. A few needed to be talked into it.

Regarding Carol, she has given SLU four great seasons, since returning from injury her Freshman season, to eventually start in the NCAA Tourney game that season.

She has been an All Region NCAA player the past two seasons both up top and on the wing. She is top 10 all time at SLU in several categories in three plus seasons.

A strong leader and mentor to many players on and off of the field, she is one of the pioneer KC recruits, more specifically, Kearney. She and her family have generously hosted the SLU team for events annually. She is to be celebrated as a Senior, for her many contributions to SLU.

Carol made her decision already knowing where she is headed next. 

 

 

[courtside]

14 minutes ago, willie said:

I am sure Courtside will give us the inside but maybe she didn’t like being downgraded from being the number one option. 

Guessing and speculation leads to mistakes and misinformation. (It’s a good thing I don’t read or post in the basketball threads much of the time.) Let’s not do that. If you want to know something just ask. There’s nothing bad going on here. Feel free to send me a message. 

[OkieBilliken]

21 hours ago, courtside said:

I mentioned in this thread on December 1st, that some of the 5th year players were eager to return, but, a few were reluctant, but willing to do so. A few needed to be talked into it.

Regarding Carol, she has given SLU four great seasons, since returning from injury her Freshman season, to eventually start in the NCAA Tourney game that season.

She has been an All Region NCAA player the past two seasons both up top and on the wing. She is top 10 all time at SLU in several categories in three plus seasons.

A strong leader and mentor to many players on and off of the field, she is one of the pioneer KC recruits, more specifically, Kearney. She and her family have generously hosted the SLU team for events annually. She is to be celebrated as a Senior, for her many contributions to SLU.

Carol made her decision already knowing where she is headed next. 

 

 

This is disappointing because there can’t be more than a dozen teams that have a higher potential upside than SLU next year.  Hard to imagine a forward not wanting to play in this offense.   But if she doesn’t want to be here anymore, then I guess it’s best she is leaving.  If she transfers to anywhere but Missouri or Creighton I  will root for her.  

[courtside]

10 hours ago, OkieBilliken said:

This is disappointing because there can’t be more than a dozen teams that have a higher potential upside than SLU next year.  Hard to imagine a forward not wanting to play in this offense.   But if she doesn’t want to be here anymore, then I guess it’s best she is leaving.  If she transfers to anywhere but Missouri or Creighton I  will root for her.  

Caroline will be playing her bonus 5th season at TCU. She has a good friend from home on the team. The Horned Frogs have made the Sweet 16 four out of the past six seasons and they have won multiple Big 12 Titles.

They are in fact a “Mizzou Family” as her dad will tell you. 

It’s very common for 4 year players to play their bonus 5th season somewhere else. It’s very different from an underclassmen leaving to go elsewhere.

Caroline gave 4 great seasons to SLU. 

[courtside]

On 12/7/2023 at 10:02 AM, courtside said:

 

Nate Lie was named by Kansas as its next head coach. Big get for KU. Big shoes to fill as Xavier. Lie is someone that did a lot with less. 

Lie was the Xavier head coach for 7 seasons. 4 NCAA Tourneys in the past 5 seasons. 3 regular season Big East Titles. 1 Conference Tourney Title. Nate played and coached at Miami of Ohio. And he also coached at the University of Cincinnati.

 

SLU recruits head to head against both Xavier and Kansas (mostly but not always successfully in recent years) on a regular basis. Similar to SLU, Xavier has had some success with good if not under the radar, local and regional players, and developing them. X also landed a SLU target last year. SLU has out recruited Kansas in KC and that has been something of note in more recent years. Not all targets cross over.

 

It was quite the image to see Nate Lie on the KU private jet, so soon after he and his team took the long bus ride from Cincinnati to DC for the Big East Conference Tourney. The commitment levels are very different at the two schools. 

 

SLU and Xavier have been playing long term, home and home. The road team often wins the game. Lots of mutual respect with Nate Lie. I expect KU to return to the SLU schedule in the near future.

 

…………

Ken Masuhr is the new head coach at U of Miami FL. Big recruiting shoes to fill at Vandy.

 

A relentless high level recruiter, he was the long time Associate Head Coach for Darren Ambrose at both Vandy and UPenn for 13 seasons, including in 5 out of the last 7 NCAA Tourneys.

 

It’s significant as Vandy has gone head to head with SLU on the recruiting trail more often in recent years. Elite academics, combined with high level soccer in a good league have often been SLU’s competition in recent years.

 

Win some. Lose some. Draw some. Caitlin Chase tor example, committed to Vandy this fall after taking an official visit to SLU. And they landed SLU target Sydney Watts last year. But SLU also landed several players of which Vandy had recruited, including one of its most recent transfers and a few others 2025 players.

 

His recruiting and work with their defense was a big reason for their recent success of 5 NCAA Tourneys in the past 7 seasons as well as winning the SEC regular season and conference tourney titles. 

 

The U’s location and league affiliation will help recruiting as the school seeks to improve other aspects to raise its competitive level.

…………..

 

Purdue hired Richard Moodie after he spent 7 years at 

 

He led South Alabama to 4 NCAA Tourneys in 7 seasons, and his team this year was inexplicably left out of the NCAA Tourney despite their strong 27 RPI. He spent a long time in D-2 prior.

 

As is often the case with coaching turnover, some players depart. Former SLU target Grace Jackson changed her commitment from Purdue to Michigan State. And St. Louisan Zoe Cuneio (no SLU connection) transferred to Tennessee.

…………………

Xavier announced Dean Ward as their next head coach.

Ward was the top assistant and lead recruiter at Dayton for six seasons. Prior to that he was on the staff of Brian Pensky at Tennessee for five seasons. Most recently Ward has been the HC the past two seasons at Lenoir-Rhyne, where his teams have had two league titles and two NCAA D2 appearances. 

Ward is well regarded in the area and region there. It will help with retaining some of their current commits/players. But as is the case with any coaching change, a few Xavier players decided to transfer with the coaching change. That includes holding midfielder Ella Rogers, who took a visit to SLU last week, but she eventually chose Arkansas for her final season. 

There has been some Jesuit school coaching carousel this offseason. (Boston College, Gonzaga, Xavier, Marquette)

None of it will affect SLU. As has been the case in recent seasons, Katie Shields and Chris Allen have turned down interest from elsewhere. 

[courtside]

Hopeful hire for George Mason. It's challenging to find better experience than the past two seasons with the 2023 National Champions, and a decade in the DMV region:

https://gomason.com/news/2023/12/20/womens-soccer-george-mason-hires-national-champion-fsu-assistant-coach-aaron-brunner.aspx

It would be helpful for the league to quickly improve the nine teams that hadan RPI worse than 200. 

[bauman]

Picking up Howard is BIG, especially now with Kelly leaving.  Howard has tremendous ball skills and a powerful shot.  I think she will step in as a starter quickly, if not at the start of the year.

I have to believe that she was one of our top 2 or 3 recruiting targets coming out of high school and a big disappointment when she chose Wis.

[courtside]

On 8/18/2023 at 9:38 AM, courtside said:

Before providing a game recap, I wanted to point out the BYU hospitality. Great to see the many family members of former Billiken Mattyn Summers in Provo. Hyrum, Irene, Gabe, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins. Mattyn’s brother Gabe, her dad, grandpa, and many uncles and cousins have all played football at BYU. CJ played several years with the St. Louis Rams. And, several are college coaches or administrators, including at BYU.

And, coach Jen Rockwood played club ball at BYU, ran the team, then coached the team, and then she started the D-1 BYU program. She has since led it to numerous heights in her 28 seasons (23 NCAA appearances) as head coach, and several deep NCAA Tourney runs. In just the past 4 seasons, they have a National Title game appearance, National Quarterfinal appearance, and a Sweet 16.

https://twitter.com/sluwsoccer/status/1692005726951231755?s=46&t=TsCCkuE48YmnkWfoKqc_Ng

 

Congratulations to former Billiken Mattyn Summers, who made her transfer to BYU official.

She and her BYU team will visit SLU for a non-conference game next Fall. 

https://byucougars.com/news/2023/12/18/byu-welcomes-2024-transfer-mattyn-summers

[Cowboy II]

-did I miss the post about Welker from Iowa?