After a disappointing 4-0 loss Sunday night, one thing is clear
for the Saint Louis University men’s soccer team: they have a long
way to go.

The Billikens felt the loss of offensive giants Brad Davis and
Dipsy Selowane and discovered holes in the structure of a young
offensive team.

“UConn is a very, very good team,” coach Dan Donigan said. “We
had spurts where we did very well, but we had four minutes where we
gave up three goals. We made simple mistakes that you can correct.
We had some give aways and some guys played in their comfort zones
too much. We need to have more urgency and more excitement.”

The Huskies scored their first goal in the 31st minute of the
game off a cross from the left side. The second goal came after a
struggle in front of the net and the third goal came in the 35th
minute of the match when a shot by Leandro de Oliveira deflected
off the heel of SLU back Joe Hammes.

In the second half, the Billikens maintained composure and held
UConn from scoring until nearly three minutes remained.

According to Donigan, as they played, part of the team was
learning how much work was yet to be done in terms of building team
chemistry and filling the void of seven starters, including Davis,
Selowane, defender Marty Tappel and goal keeper John Politis.

One of the highlights was seeing how the new freshmen and
transfer students fit into the lineup and their potential to be
immediate contributors to the program as soon as each player
settles in to his position and place with the team.

“It took a couple of the freshmen a short period of time to
adapt to the physical nature of college soccer versus high school
soccer and the speed of the game. They responded very well,”
Donigan said. “The transfers showed a lot of maturity and poise,
and they will provide a lot of leadership for us.”

Despite the loss of several key players, the Billikens’
backfield has remained the most solid largely due to the addition
of several freshmen and transfer students. Joining the Bills are
midfielder Kevin Wickart from Wake Forest, Ntando Tsambo, a
defender from UNC-Charlotte and goalkeeper Martin Hutton, from
Clemson who played with the national team.

“Defensively, we will be okay. We need to make sure we keep our
intensity level high, but we have a lot of experience in back with
guys like Jason Cole, Nick Gannon, and Martin Hutton,” Donigan
said. “Offense is my biggest concern because you can’t replace guys
like Brad or Dipsy, but we will look to other guys like Jack
Jewsbury, Nick Walls, Danny Wynn and Cooper McKee.”

The biggest struggle at the beginning of the season will be to
build chemistry and cohesion between the new and returning players
and figuring out how to fill the shoes of Davis, Selowane and the
seniors.

Donigan does not foresee drastic changes in the basic structure
of the Billiken offense, but some changes are anticipated as time
progresses and the members of the team settle in to their
niches.

“Offensively we need to fill the void of Brad and Dipsy, those
are big shoes to fill. We may go to a 3-5-2 offense or a 3-4-3, but
the main thing is we need to have more attack offensively. Our
offense had no spark and no presence of attack on Sunday,” Donigan
said. “However, it’s unfair to judge us just on that game because
UConn is such a strong team.”

The Bills will have to rely on the experience and leadership of
the older players to help mold the team into a fiercer attacking
team in order to be successful in Conference USA. The lineup of the
Billikens is rich in talent, but the pieces are only beginning to
come together.

The Billikens have a long road ahead in terms of utilizing the
talent within the team and waiting for the pieces to fall in to
place, but it’s time to start putting the pieces together.