Men’s Soccer
The Billikens return nine starters from last year’s squad that grabbed the league’s regular season title and finished 12-2-5 overall. The team fell in the NCAA Tournament in penalty kicks to Illinois-Chicago.
Senior Calum Angus was named a second-team All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Association or America and was the 2007 Atlantic 10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
Senior Kyle Patterson was named first-team All-region after leading the team with 24 points (10G, 4A).
In the team’s first exhibition match, senior Dado Hamzagic scored early in the second half to lead the Bills past DePaul, 1-0 on Aug. 20.
“Everyone is expecting to make a deep run into the NCAA,” junior Tim Ream (pictured) said. “We have nine returning starters, so we shouldn’t expect anything less than that.”
Key returners: Kyle Patterson, Brandon Barklage, Dado Hamzagic, Eric Sweetin, Calum Angus, Pat Disbennett.
Senior lost to graduation: Brian Grazier
Recruits: Keegan Smith, Jonas Reiter, Brent Hellesen, Tyler McNabb, Dan Olwig, Alex Johnston, Daniel Wrzosek, Lucas Dyer, Evan Johnson.
Field Hockey
The Saint Louis field hockey team ended the 2007 season with a 4-15 record overall and 2-5 in the Atlantic 10. The Billikens just missed out on a bid to the A-10 Tournament, finishing sixth in the league standings.
The Billikens faced a rugged schedule, having played five nationally ranked teams- No. 7 Michigan State, No. 11 Ohio, No. 13 Ohio State, No. 15 Indiana and No. 16 Louisville.
The team ended its season with a 3-0 loss against defending A-10 champion Richmond.
Head coach Marcie Boyer ended her second season at SLU with an 11-24 career mark.
On tap for the Bills this coming fall is 17 games, including six home contests. SLU will face two teams that were ranked in the top 10 of the season-ending 2007 National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll and four other teams that received votes.
The team’s season starts Aug. 30 when it take on James Madison in a tournament hosted by Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.
Key returners: Jacklyn McGranahan, Eva Luck
Senior lost to graduation: Amy Wasserman
Recruits: Nicole Kent, Alex LaBarge, Lauren Noe.
Men’s X-Country
Head Coach Jon Bell said that last season was disappointing for the men’s cross country team.
The team placed 20th in regionals, beating four teams.
As a freshman last year, Brian Holdmeyer bolstered the men’s team with top finishes in the Atlantic-10 Championships and NCAA Regionals.
Bell expects the men to finish in the middle of the Atlantic 10 Conference this year, placing sixth or seventh.
One of the major differences between this year and years past is that the men’s and women’s cross country teams are split.
Assistant Coach Gavin Kennedy will be working solely with the women’s team, while Assistant Coach Time Bradley will work exclusively with the men’s team.
“The split gives us the ability to give more one-on-one attention to our athlete,” Bell said. “We’re really trying to bring the men up to speed this season.”
Key returners: Brian Holdmeyer, Scott Vicker, Neal Rodrigues
Seniors lost to graduation: Tim Hamilton, Matt Stuber, Steve Vargas
Recruits: Will Herrington, Stephen Mackey, Dahmar Smiles.
Volleyball
The Bills enjoyed their second straight 20-win campaign and finished among the top three teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference in 2007.
The team finished the season with a 23-7 overall record and a 10-3 ledger in A-10 action. Its only league losses came against NCAA Tournament qualifiers Xavier and No. 15 Dayton.
Head coach Anne Kordes owns a 74-49 career record in four seasons at Saint Louis University. Last season she put together her winningest squad yet as the 2007 team finished with 23 wins.
This season, Kordes said the work rate of her players is more intense than any team she has ever coach. The team is currently running three-hour practices twice a day to prepare for the season.
“Coming off last year, we were definitely not happy with our finish, so we are really excited to kind of forget about it and move on,” Kordes said. “The bottom line is that we’ve got a team that is committed to working hard and wanting to win.”
Key returners: Whitney Roth, Bridget Fonke, Whitney Behrens, Sammi McCloud, Lauren Christman, Sally Warning, Megan Boken
Senior lost to graduation: Sutton Lasater
Recruits: Amelia Karges, Katie Fleming, Ashley Gaillot, Alyssa Deno, Casey Chernin
First match: Aug. 29 against Miami (Ohio).
Women’s Soccer
Among their 26 returning players, the Billikens feature six who started at least half the team’s 18 games a year ago. Heading the list is junior forward Julia Bradenberg, who last year earned a spot on the Atlantic 10 All-Conference second team for a second consecutive season.
The Billikens finished the 2007 campaign with a 10-6-2 record, giving them a double-digit victory total for the 10th time in the 12-year history of the program.
Included in that record was a 7-2-2 mark in Atlantic 10 Conference play. The Billikens dropped a 2-1 overtime decision to Dayton in the A-10 Championship first round.
The Bills open their schedule on the road Friday, Aug. 22, against Southeast Missouri State. The game is the earliest season opener in the program’s history
Senior back Lauren Olson will keep an online journal, a feature available only on www.slubillikens.com.
The journal will provide a behind-the-scenes look at the women’s soccer squad and will be updated periodically throughout the year.
Key returners: Julia Bradenberg, Lauren Olson, Susan Frederickson, Kelly Waeckerle, Hannah Koesterer, Lauren Bozesky.
Seniors lost to graduation: Liz Fox, Heather Crawford, Mary Green
Recruits: Nicole Kent, Alex LaBarge, Lauren Noe.
