After two consecutive seasons without an NCAA Tournament appearance, the Saint Louis University men’s soccer team has played itself back onto college soccer’s biggest stage.
The Billikens (13-4-2) posted several key victories in nonconference match-ups and nearly ran the table in Atlantic 10 Conference play with their only loss coming against the University of Rhode Island over the weekend.
Before having their unbeaten streak snapped by the Rams, the Bills dropped the Dukes of Duquesne in the semifinal round of the A-10 tournament on Friday.
Saint Louis University overwhelmed Duquesne for the second time this season to advance to the A-10 Championship match against URI.
The Bills advanced past Duquesne on the feet of freshman midfielder Kyle Hayes. Hayes scored the only goal of the match in the 53rd minute.
Senior midfielder Alex Matteson earned an assist on the tally, beating a defender to create the chance. After taking the ball to the end line, Matteson sent it back through the penalty area to Hayes, who sent the lone goal of the match into the back of the net.
“Kyle has been great off of the bench all year long,” coach Dan Donigan said. “We’re a deep team, but we need guys to accept the role of coming off the bench.”
Though the Bills only struck once, and the Dukes could not put anything away, both goalkeepers were forced to make three saves.
The shutout victory over the Dukes punched the Bills’ ticket to the championship match against the Rams. Rhode Island earned a trip to the finale by topping Richmond 1-0.
The Bills and Rams met just one week earlier in Rhode Island. Saint Louis University topped URI 3-1 in the match to claim the A-10 regular season title. The two teams also met in the 2005 Conference Finals, in which the Rams defeated the Bills in overtime. The loss kept SLU out of the NCAA tournament.
Despite out-shooting the Rams 8-3 in the first half, the Bills found themselves in a one-goal hole at halftime.
Rhode Island’s tally came courtesy of Jeffrey Gonsalves, the leading scorer in the A-10. Gonsalves netted an unassisted strike in the 39th minute, to open the scoring.
The Billikens continued to dominate the match in the second half, but were unable to come up with a goal of its own. The Bills earned six corner kicks in the match to the Rams’ one, and finished with 13 shots to URI’s six in the match.
Regardless of SLU’s numerous opportunities, it was unable to hammer a goal home, as URI iced the postseason championship with a second goal in the 51st minute.
Lukasz Tumicz knocked in the insurance tally with an assist from Danleigh Borman. Tumicz chipped the ball over SLU goalkeeper Ross Kaufman after receiving a long pass from Borman.
The loss was SLU’s first since falling to SMU on Sept. 22. The undefeated streak spanned 11 games, with 10 wins and one tie. The only tie came against Xavier on Oct. 13. The Bills finished with a record of 9-1-1 against A-10 teams, which stands as the best mark in the conference.
The Bills’ impressive conference record, coupled with victories over Connecticut and Indiana and a tie against Notre Dame, helped push the Bills into the No. 11 slot in the NCAA Tournament.
Because of its draw as one of the 16 seeded teams, SLU will have a first-round bye, and will face the winner of the Cincinnati at Northwestern match. The two teams square off on Friday in Evanston, Il. The road to the College Cup finals could also go through No. 3 seeded SMU.
“It’s a great draw. I’m very excited,” Donigan said. “Our guys have been rewarded for their hard work all year. We were 10-1-1 in our last 12 games and got some great wins in some great games.”
The reward for the Bills, in addition to their seeding and a bye, is a second-round home game.
Also advantageous for the Bills is their familiarity with both of their potential opponents. Both Saint Louis and Cincinnati were perennial conference foes when both teams played in Conference USA just two years ago.
The bye also comes with a long lay-off. The Bills will not take the field until Wednesday, Nov. 15, which falls 10 days after their last match.
“We have time to get healthy, get rest,” Donigan said. “We have a good three or four days of solid rest, but we’re always concerned with staying sharp and focused. You never know how many days off is the right number.”
The match will kick off on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Robert R. Hermann Stadium.