Final non-conference match ahead, A-10 play draws near

The men’s soccer team will travel to Iowa City, Iowa to take on the Drake University Bulldogs for their non-conference season finale in the Ralph Gross Classic this Saturday, Oct. 1.

This will be the third meeting between the two teams since the 2008 season, with  SLU coming out ahead 1-0 in double overtime in both games, with a victory in the first round of the NCAA tournament in 2008 and also in last years homecoming game.

The Billikens roll into Iowa City with a 2-4-1 record and are coming off a double overtime 1-1 draw with Missouri State University. Drake (5-4-1) is returning to the pitch after a 1-0 loss to Northern Illinois University. This game will be the third in a four-game home stand for the Bulldogs who are 1-1 so far on their home field.

The Bulldogs enter into the game with a fairly balanced attack, having scored 20 goals this season. Eleven different players have tallied at least one goal. Most of the damage has been done by senior midfielders Matt Kuhn and Charles Schwartz, who have netted five and four goals, respectively. Drake, however, has surrendered nearly as many goals, 17, this fall.

This should allow the Billikens many opportunities to score, especially freshman Raymond Lee, who notched his third goal of the season against Missouri State Saturday night, and Kingsley Bryce (two goals), who leads the Billikens attack.

The Billikens are looking to get back on the winning track as they head into Atlantic-10 conference play against Rhode Island on Oct. 7.
For the Billikens to come away with a win they will need to capitalize on scoring opportunities, which they failed to do against Missouri State. Frustration is building amongst the team, and tempers ran high in the second half of the Missouri State game. Three yellow cards were dished out, two of them to Missouri State.

After the homecoming game, senior forward Mike Roach spoke of the frustrating up and down season. “Obviously finishing and learning how to not get scored on,” Roach said about what the team needs to improve. “We need to work on a lot. We’re finding out now that no game is going to be easy, and its just time for us to look ourselves in the mirror and start winning some games.”
Maybe a trip away from Robert R. Hermann Stadium could be good for the team. Both of their wins have come on the road.“No matter where you win the NCAA doesn’t look at it any different and actually looks at road wins more, but for the fans yes, we want to put on a show, we want these guys to feel good about coming out and seeing a good product, but its not my biggest concern,” Head Coach Mike McGinty said of the Billikens 0-2-1 home record.

McGinty has been prepping the team for the game against Drake and the A-10 conference play. “The message all week is going to be getting ready for Drake and finishing our out of conference schedule. We’ll talk about the A-10 after Drake, but right now we’ve got to focus on recovering and getting ready to go on the road again,” he said.

Roach spoke of the frustrating up and down season. “Obviously finishing and learning how to not get scored on,” Roach said about what the team needs to improve. “We need to work on a lot. We’re finding out now that no game is going to be easy, and its just time for us to look ourselves in the mirror and start winning some games.”

Maybe a trip away from Robert R. Hermann Stadium could be good for the team. Both of their wins have come on the road.“No matter where you win, the NCAA doesn’t look at it any different and actually looks at road wins more, but for the fans yes, we want to put on a show, we want these guys to feel good about coming out and seeing a good product, but its not my biggest concern,” Head Coach Mike McGinty said of the Billikens 0-2-1 record at Hermann Stadium.

McGinty has been prepping the team for the game against Drake and A-10 conference play. “The message all week is going to be getting ready for Drake and finishing our out-of-conference schedule.

“We’ll talk about the A-10 after Drake, but right now, we’ve got to focus on recovering and getting ready to go on the road again,” he said.