The regular season is over. Next stop: Tampa.

The fourth-ranked Saint Louis University men’s soccer team has captured the Conference USA regular-season crown thanks to a 2-1 home win Saturday against Marquette and a 3-1 victory last night at Charlotte. With the wins, the Bills improve to 14-1 overall and 8-1 in C-USA.

SLU also receives a No. 1 seed and a first-round bye in the C-USA tournament, set for Nov. 15-19 at South Florida University.

“I’m very happy for my guys. It gives us the chance to get the first day off in the Conference Tournament. It was very satisfying because they put forth a lot of effort all season long to reach this point,” said coach Dan Donigan.

The SLU men’s soccer team ended their impressive 2001 regular season in fitting fashion. With a victory. The tantalizing trio struck again as the Billikens defeated the 49ers of Charlotte 3-1 Wednesday night at Transamerica Field in Charlotte.

Senior Dipsy Selolwane, junior Jack Jewsbury and sophomore Brad Davis punched in the Billikens’ three goals, which were all scored late in the match.

“Charlotte’s still trying to win their way into the C-USA tournament, so they had a lot to play for tonight,” Donigan said in a press release. “For us to come in here and get that result under those conditions was tremendous and is a great way for us to go into the conference tournament.”

The result has been a staple of the Billikens’ season. SLU’s defense was stiff and their offense was equally potent.

The Bills kept the 49ers scoreless throughout the entire first half while allowing a mere three shots on goal. SLU couldn’t get their own offense rolling until the 73rd minute. That is when the excitement began.

Senior Mike Hill fed the ball to a charging Jewsbury who found the back of the net putting the Bills on top 1-0.

Seven minutes later, Dipsy padded the Bills’ lead with an unassisted goal in the 81st minute.

Charlotte did not back down, however. Forward Mira Mupier made the game interesting in the 85th minute when he capitalized on a defensive mishap. Senior goalkeeper John Politis and defender Tim Sartori collided near the goal leaving Mupier with an open goal and only a one-goal deficit.

Davis joined the scoring action in the game’s final minutes as he converted a penalty kick after being pulled down in the penalty area by a Charlotte defender.

The Billikens once again put together a stellar mix of offensive power and defensive tenacity as they out-shot the 49ers 15-8. Politis posted three saves for SLU on the evening as they improve their C-USA record to 9-1-0.

SLU earned a No. 1 seed of the C-USA tournament in Tampa. The Bills will play on Friday, Nov. 16. Their opponent has yet to be determined. The Bills’ record is their best since 1991 when SLU made its way to the national semifinals.

Saturday, SLU celebrated the eight seniors’ final regular season home game. The Bills escaped with a 2-1 win over the Golden Eagles despite Marquette controlling most of the play in the second half. MU had an 11-9 edge in shots and a 9-7 advantage in corner kicks.

SLU pulled out the win with goals from Bobby O’Connell and Dipsy.

O’Connell notched his first career goal in his first career start. Dipsy ranks among the top five nationally with 41 points (19 goals, 3 assists).

“You have to give a lot of credit to Marquette,” Donigan said. “They dictated the pace of the game and played very well, but we kept our composure. We did what we needed to do to get the win, and that shows character.”

O’Connell, epitomized SLU’s character. In his four years-a span of 72 games-donning a Bills uniform, O’Connell had yet to see the starting lineup or score a goal. On Saturday, he got his chance.

He wouldn’t disappoint.

In the second minute, Mike Kirchoff got under Brad Davis’ corner kick at the far post. Kirchoff headed it across the goalmouth to O’Connell, who slammed it in from six yards out.

O’Connell sprinted down the sideline toward a mob of waiting teammates and coaches. It marked a storybook ending for a player who has been the ultimate team player in his time at SLU.

“This is something that I never would have expected in my wildest of dreams,” said O’Connell. “I will never forget that moment on Saturday night. I respect the guys on this team so much and to score that goal in a big game like this was unbelievable.”

The goal gave SLU the kick-start it needed, but there were still 88 minutes left in the game. Marquette nearly tied it two minutes later, but Bills keeper John Politis made a leaping save to push the ball over the crossbar off of an MU header.

Dipsygave SLU a two-goal advantage in the 13th minute when he connected off of a Davis pass to volley it in from six yards out. Marquette responded, however, less than two minutes later.

Bryan Godfrey’s left-footed blast from 25-yards-out deflected off Kirchhoff and sailed into the upper right corner of the net to end the scoring at 2-1.

The Bills showed their mettle as they constantly withheld the MU attack.