The road has been very rocky for the men’s soccer team this season. However, the Billikens ended this road trip with some better success than their previous road games with a 2-2 tie against St. Bonaventure and a 2-0 victory against Duquesne. The Bills now sit at 9-3-2 this season with their final non-conference game looming against No. 6 Louisville on Halloween, truly a haunting prospect for the Bills looking for another signature victory for this season.
The Bills began its Atlantic 10 conference road schedule at St. Bonaventure. The Bills got the first goal thanks to Robert Kristo. That was Kristo’s fourth goal of the year giving the Bills a 1-0 lead in the first second. The second half began with a Kingsley Bryce goal giving the Bills a 2-0 lead until five minutes were left in the second half. St. Bonaventure scored two goals in the last five minutes of the second half to tie the game. The game remained at 2-2 which was the final result of the match.
On Sunday, the Bills traveled to Pittsburgh to take on Duquesne. The Bills scored its first goal in the seventh minute of the match. Raymond Lee scored the goal off an assist from Alex Sweetin to give the team a 1-0 lead early in the match. After 28 minutes, Sweetin got his fifth goal of the year on a breakaway opportunity. This gave the Bills a 2-0 lead that they would not relinquish.
The Bills have a key match on Halloween. The team will be playing at No. 6 Louisville in their final non-conference match of the season. This is the final ranked team the Bills are slated to play this season. Last season, the men’s soccer team defeated Louisville in a 1-0 victory at Hermann Stadium off of a goal scored by Adnan Gabeljic.
The Bills currently sit atop the A-10 conference standings with a 3-0-2 record and are in good position to make the A-10 conference tournament. The Bills have three conference games remaining this season.
The Billikens will play their final scheduled home game against Saint Joseph’s on Nov. 3 at 1 p.m. The Saint Louis seniors will be honored at this match.
After that final home match, the team will travel on the road to complete their Atlantic 10 conference season against Rhode Island on Nov. 8 and Massachusetts on Nov. 10.
If they qualify, the Bills will go to the A-10 men’s soccer tournament which will be played in Dayton, Ohio from Nov. 14-17. They will be looking to repeat as Atlantic 10 tournament champions and seek a deeper run into the NCAA tournament after last years disappointing double overtime exit to Fairleigh Dickinson.