The men’s soccer team rocked Hermann Stadium on Senior Day with an impressive 4-0 victory over Butler.
The Billikens ended their regular season with a bang and sent their seniors, Jordan Gladstone, Joda Holloway, Nick Maglasang, Michael Robson, Dillon Saffle, Jonathan Svigos and Alex Sweetin, out in style.
Now the Bills have to turn their attention to the Atlantic 10 conference tournament where they are a No. 2 seed in the eight team field.
“I felt that our seniors were the difference makers. We wanted to defend Hermann all year and that’s what we did tonight,” Nick Shackelford, goalkeeper, said.
The game was very important for Butler who was trying to make the A-10 tournament and needed the victory. The Bills prevented Butler’s entry into the tournament.
The game was very evenly matched until the very end of the first half when the Bills scored 2 quick goals.
The first goal came in the 42nd minute off a corner kick. David Graydon sent the corner kick into the box to Kingsley Bryce who deflected the ball off his right foot and into the back of the net. The Bills were not done scoring.
A mere minute later, forward Robbie Kristo got his 9th goal of the season. He is the leading scorer for the team this season.
Bryce passed the ball up to Robson, who got past the defense and then crossed the ball to Kristo, who knocked it in for the goal. Robson got an assist in his final game as a Billiken.
In the span of a minute, the Bills scored 2 quick goals and took the 2-0 advantage into halftime. The Bills, though, were not finished scoring.
In the 59th minute, Kristo attacked the Butler defense inside the box.
While the defenders were focusing on Kristo, he sent the ball back to Sweetin who sent the ball past the diving Butler goalkeeper, giving the Bills a 3-0 lead.
Finally, in the 88th minute, the Bills finished off the day with a goal by Adnan Gabeljic. Svigos earned the assist.
“Senior Day can be an emotional day, and I thought the guys really wanted to send this group out on a high note… It was a really good performance” Head Coach Mike McGinty said to Saint Louis Athletics after the win.
The Bills finished the regular season with 13-4 overall record (7-2 A-10). The regular season no longer matters as the team enters the A-10 conference tournament. They will likely be a part of the NCAA Tournament.
The Bills are the No.2 seed in the conference tournament.
They first play the No. 7 seed La Salle Explorers. The teams did not play each other during the regular season. They will play each other Thursday.
Charlotte holds the No.1 seed in the tournament. They defeated the Bills earlier this season 1-0 at Hermann Stadium which was one of only two losses the Bills had during the conference season.
If the Bills defeat La Salle, they have the potential for a rematch with Xavier, who beat the Bills 3-2 in the conference season.
The Bills have had a great regular season, but the work is not over yet as they look toward the future with the A-10 conference tournament and an NCAA berth in their sights.
