Dan Donigan showed no hesitation in utilizing his new players in the Bills’ first match against Missouri State University.
Named the No. 10 recruiting class in the country by Soccer America’s coaches’ poll, Saint Louis University saw 19 total players receive playing time, 12 of whom were newcomers.
This past Saturday, the No. 21 Billikens set the tone for the upcoming season, defeating MSU 2-0 in its first of two exhibition games this season.
Senior Jimmy Holmes and sophomore Mike Roach led the offensive output with a goal apiece, as the Bills penetrated the Bears’ defense, while playing stellar defense of their own on the opposite side of the pitch.
The Billikens struck first on a goal by Roach, with the assist going to Holmes. The forward dropped a beautiful pass into Roach, who capitalized by chipping the ball past the Missouri State goalkeeper. With a crowd of nearly 3,500 raucous fans behind them, the Billikens would not surrender the lead.
“That might have been the best crowd I’ve ever seen,” Holmes said. “Growing up in St. Louis, all you ever hear about is SLU Soccer, the tradition, the national championships, everything. It’s a huge thing to play here, and it was awesome to see the fan support.”
The defense looked sharp, holding Missouri State scoreless and shutting down most of the opposing attacks before they had an opportunity to materialize. Although Missouri State took six more total shots than SLU, only three of those made it on goal.
Overall, the goalkeeping was strong. Freshman keeper Mark Pais and senior Ross Kaufmann combined for the shutout, with Kauffman saving one, and Pais blocking the other two.
The game remained at 1-0 until the 73rd minute, when Holmes put the Billikens on the board again with a goal from 20 feet out. Assisted by senior Tim Ream and Roach, the goal put Missouri State away for good. The defense continued their dominant performance, shutting out the Bears for the final 17 minutes and preserving the Billikens’ victory in the first contest of the season.
“Missouri State was a fast team, which really tested our fitness,” said Holmes. “We’re looking to sharpen up the offense a little bit, but we all just want to contribute in any way we can.”
This past Wednesday, Aug. 26, the Billikens traveled to Tennessee to take on the University of Memphis Tigers, a former Conference USA rival. Memphis defeated Christian Brothers 3-0 in their exhibition opener.
Unfortunately, the Bills could not continue their winning ways and suffered a 2-0 defeat by the Tigers. Memphis received a goal from J.J. Greer in the fourth minute and notched another in the 33rd minute mark, as Andreas Guentner found the back of the net.
“They’re a big and strong team, a bunch of really big guys,” Holmes said of the Billikens’ final exhibiton opponent.
The Billikens still hold an all-time 15-6-1 advantage over Memphis.
SLU opens their regular season on Tuesday, Sept. 1 versus New Mexico at home.
