SLU Men’s Soccer hosted three opponents over the last two weeks before heading out to the East Coast for conference play against Duquesne.

For homecoming on Saturday, Sept. 23, the Billikens hosted defending NCAA champion Stanford, ranked No. 5 heading into the game.

Despite being out-shot 10-5 in the first half, SLU kept it scoreless at the half.

However, SLU opened scoring in the 57th minute when sophomore forward Leo Novaes was fed by junior forward Jacob Krupp. Four minutes later, redshirt freshman Spencer Jones scored an insurance goal, with junior defender Eric Davies assisting.

There were 3,326 fans in attendance to witness this upset, and head coach Mike McGinty spoke to the team effort. “We’re just getting better every week and working hard. We’ve got a lot of guys who can contribute.”

It was a short turnaround for the Billikens, who hosted Denver just three days later on Tuesday, Sept. 26.

Denver opened scoring in the 20th minute with a goal tucked into the lower-left corner, off a rebound.

Three minutes later, Denver took a rebound off the post and buried it in the net for a second goal.

In the 26th minute, junior midfielder Lennart Hein converted a PK, sending SLU to halftime trailing 2-1.

The Billikens continued to attack in the second half, outshooting Denver 8-1. However, Denver scored off a free kick in the 83rd minute to seal SLU’s fate.

Saturday, Sept. 30th, saw the Billikens opening conference play, hosting U-Mass in an A-10 matchup.

In the seventh minute, U-Mass was whistled for a penalty, giving SLU a penalty kick. Hein buried it to put SLU up 1-0.

However, this would be the only scoring for the Billikens, as U-Mass scored twice in the first half and once in the second half in the 3-1 defeat.

SLU traveled to Duquesne on Wednesday, Oct. 4, to begin a long A-10 road tour.