Dan Donigan did not have to work too hard filling the holes left
from graduating seniors on the Billiken soccer team.
The 2003 Conference-USA champions were a young group, and will
be saying goodbye to three graduating seniors.
Leaving are Andy Pusateri, Nick Gannon and Kevin Wickart, who
served as the Bills’ back line and anchored the very young and
relatively inexperienced group of players that made up most of last
year’s squad.
But, as is the Billikens have so easily done over the past few
years, Donigan went out and picked up some promising stars to fill
their shoes. The old adage about a team not rebuilding but simply
retooling fits this squad pretty well.
Center back Brett Branan was the first to sign with Saint Louis
University, but comes as a transfer with only one year of
eligibility remaining.
Branan played in 19 games last season at Clemson, scoring one
goal and assisting on another. Branan’s size, standing
six-foot-three-inches and weighing 178 pounds, should be a
significant addition to the SLU air game.
“Branan transferred mid-year, which gave him the spring to get
acclimated here,” Donigan said. “He is dominant in the air and is a
solid, solid center back.”
The Bills will welcome a second new center back next season, as
Tim Ward also joins the back line.
Ward comes to SLU from Waukesha, Wis., but has been in residence
at the U.S. Soccer training facility in Bradenton, Fla.
He has been playing for the Under-17 National Team and will
likely join the U-20 squad as well.
“He is off of the U-17 team, the same as John DiRaimondo and
Brian Grazier were,” Donigan said. “He’s a good, strong,
left-footed center back. He shows great distribution and is a great
striker of the ball.”
The last defensive links fell into place with the signings of
local stars Brandon Gasparovic, a defender from Christian Brothers
University College Prep, and goalkeeper Pat Disbennett, from
Webster Groves.
average of 0.68 last season, helping lead Webster Groves to a
20-4-2 record. Gasparovic earned honors as an All-American by the
National Soccer Coaches Association of America and was Gatorade
Missouri State Player of the Year.
“We didn’t really have a need for a goalie,” Donigan said of
Disbennett, “but we didn’t want to lose him. There was a chance
that he would have gone to a different school. He can come in and
compete for a starting spot.
“We’re pretty deep now in the back,” Donigan said. “Casey Speiss
can drop back and play defense, too. We’ll try a new form, with
four in the back. If we play with the four, then we will have room
for the two center backs.”
The SLU team of 2004 also benefits from the experience of
another year. Sixteen of the 32 members of last year’s Bills were
freshmen, and only three were seniors.
DiRaimundo and Will John both played with the US National Team
during the off-season and Brian Grazier played in Brazil with his
Olympic Development Program team.
Vedad Ibisevic played with the Bosnian U-20 team against
Macedonia and will probably play with the team again this summer in
European-friendly matches.
“Vedad and Will are going to be a handful and are getting some
international experience,” Donigan said. “Will has also made a
great physical transition to the Division I game.
“We’ll probably be ranked number one preseason, with the
majority of the team returning. Its always difficult during the
season though,” Donigan said.
